State of Grace
by adambrodylover
Summary: The Twilight Saga as seen through the eyes of Bella's year younger sister Grace, who is best friends with Jacob and already living with their father Charlie. But Forks isn't the quiet sleepy town that Grace always thought it was, all thanks to her sister's arrival and those 'beautiful snobs' known as the Cullens.
1. Chapter 1

My sister was coming to Forks. Dad and I got pretty well, and I knew that he'd always missed Bella not living with us. When he told me Bella was coming to town, I was curious as to what would drive my sun loving sister to the rainiest place in America.

When our parents had divorced, we had both moved with our mom away from Forks and our dad to sunnier pastures. By the age of six, I was already determined to live with my dad. He seemed lonely, I had decided, and I knew that the already mature seven year old Bella would be able to look after our mother. So I had moved back home, and had gone to visit my mother and sister for a few weeks every summer. Bella eventually stopped coming to Forks, preferring for my dad and I to visit her. So you can understand my curiosity in what would drive Bella to move here. I knew she liked our stepdad Phil as much as I did, and I intended to get the reasons out of her when we picked her up at the airport.

"It's good to see you, Bells," Dad said with a smile, automatically catching the ever clumsy Bella as she stumbled and giving her an obviously awkward hug. "You haven't changed much. How's Renee?"

"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad,"

I had to smirk at the obvious restraint against her habit of referring to him as Charlie.

"Hey little sis," Bella said with a fond smile, making me roll my eyes. A year was barely older, but I hugged with her with slightly less awkwardness than my dad had. We Swans weren't exactly the hugging type.

"Hi Bella," I greeted, and we headed to get her few bags. I had to raise an eyebrow at this. I was hardly a fashionista by any means, but I was a sixteen year old girl after all… I did love my clothes.

When we all got into my dad's police cruiser (he was Police Chief Swan in Forks), I reluctantly gave up my usual spot in the passenger seat to Bella at my dad's look. Once I was in the backseat, I excitedly said, "Tell her the news, Dad,"

"News?" she said, somewhat warily.

"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he said, brushing it off as if it wasn't a big deal and he hadn't been obsessed with finding her a safe, reliable car since she had asked him to live with us.

"What kind of car?"

"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy,"

I practically groaned in jealousy. I had foregone a car in favour of a computer with actual internet that didn't take five years, but my next birthday had me determined to get a car.

"He got it from Billy," I said. "Jake fixed it up for you,"

"Who're they again?" she asked, confusion written all over her face.

"From La Push," I reminded her; somewhat annoyed that she had forgotten my best friend Jacob and his father.

"He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Dad prompted as he drove.

"Bella hated fishing, remember?" I said, and was somewhat pleased to see her blush.

"Well, Billy's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued as if I hadn't interrupted. "So he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap,"

"What year is it?" she asked, and I knew Dad felt somewhat guilty about this. But seriously, she couldn't be expecting much. Both our parents had limited resources.

"Like Grace said, Jake fixed it up real well, did a lot of work on the engine – it's only a few years old really,"

"It's like from the fifties," I interrupted.

Bella looked slightly horrified. "Ch – Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic…"

"Jake wouldn't give you a dodgy car," I said defensively.

"I'm sure Bella didn't mean it like that, Grace," Dad said, trying to calm me down as always. "Really, the thing runs great. Jacob did a great job on it."

"How cheap is cheap?" she asked, surprising me as she seemed to come around. Maybe it was only to appease me, since I'd be so offended at her questioning my best friend's mad skills.

"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift," he looked at her with a slightly hopeful expression, making me feel instantly defensive of him too. He and Bella had never been close, and it was obvious he was desperate for some kind of connection.

She looked suitably surprised and impressed, so I sat back as she insisted he didn't have to do that and thanked him, much to his obvious embarrassment but I'm sure delight.

We arrived home, and I watched as Bella instantly fell in love with her new truck and thanked Dad again, this time with even more appreciation.

I helped get her stuff into her bedroom. It was the same bedroom she'd had from when she was little. We'd never had reason to redecorate her room, especially since she hadn't come to Forks in years.

Dad left us to it, and Bella slowly sank down onto her bed.

I put down the last of her stuff. "Here you go,"

"Thanks Grace," she said quietly, looking a bit overwhelmed.

"Did you want help unpacking?" I asked.

"No, it's fine," she said.

"Okay," I said, heading into my own room beside hers.

Jake and Billy arrived half an hour later with Bella's truck.

I heard their car coming down the road, and headed downstairs quickly, eager to see my best friend.

"I heard you guys coming all the way down the road," Dad said good naturedly, narrowly beating me out the house to greet the Blacks.

"Bella, you remember Billy Black," Dad said, despite her not remembering in the car ride earlier.

She shook his hand, and acted like she did remember. "Oh, hey, looking good,"

"I'm still dancing," he joked, referring to his wheelchair. "I'm glad you're finally here. Charlie here hasn't shit up about it since you told him you were coming,"

Bella looked at me, and I smirked, confirming Dad's excitement about Bella coming to live with us.

Dad sighed in embarrassment. "Alright, keep exaggerating… I'll roll you into the mud,"

Jake and I just laughed at our dads, used to their antics.

"After I ram you in the ankles," Billy said.

"Bring it," Dad retorted.

Figuring now was as a good a time as any, I said, "Bella, this is Jake,"

"Ah, Jacob," she said, her eyes lighting in recognition. "So the best friend Grace never shuts up about?"

I squirmed in embarrassment, while Jake just laughed.

"Thanks, Bella," I said with a roll of the eyes.

"We bonded over mud pies and never looked back," he said affectionately.

Bella smiled. "Are they always like this?" she asked, referring to our dads who were still mucking around.

"It's getting worse with old age," he said.

"So true," I agreed, as our dads finally stopped embarrassing us and came back over.

"So what do you think?" Dad asked Bella, who started mooning over the car.

"I told you she'd love it," Billy said to Dad, once Bella and Jake had gone into the car to check it out. "I'm down with the kids,"

"Sure, Billy," I said with a laugh.

"Oh yeah, dude," Dad said. "You're the bomb,"

"Come on guys, football's on soon," I said, leading the way back in the house. Surrounded by boys all the time like I was, I had learned quickly to just like sports or have a very boring life. It gave me and Dad something to bond over, anyway.

Bella had gone to cook dinner, so Jake joined me in my room.

"So how's it going?" Jake asked. "She seems pretty cool,"

"She's okay," I said somewhat reluctantly.

"Spill," he said, seeing through me far too easily.

"She's just… I don't know, we've never been close because we live so far apart, but it's just awkward," I said.

"Says the queen of awkwardness,"

"Shut up," I said good-naturedly, as I sat on my bed. "She's the queen of clumsy, anyways. She loves that truck though, doesn't she?"

He gave me a cocky look, cracking me up. "My assistant did all the hard work,"

I laughed at his reference to me assisting him, since mostly it was just getting me to pass him tools.

"Of course," I said with false modesty.

Jake and I had been best friends pretty much since I had moved to Forks at the age of six. We had never gone to the same school, since he'd attended school on the reservation and I went to Forks Elementary and then High School. Regardless, our bond over mud pies had grown into a genuine friendship.

"I just have bad feeling about this," I confessed.

"About Bella living here?" he clarified.

I nodded, and Jake looked worried. I had unbelievably good instincts, to the point Jake liked to joke it was my superpower or something. Bella coming here was supposed to be a good thing, wasn't it?

My uneasy feeling lingered as I heard Bella softly cry herself to sleep from my bedroom, which was next to hers. Why was she even here then, if living with us made her so miserable?

The three of us sat down to breakfast, which was quiet and weird. Dad and I never really ate breakfast together, seeing how I was the type of person who was always running late and grabbing a pop tart during my rush out the door. But Bella had gotten me up after her shower, offering a lift to school. Dad wished her luck on his way out. At least I knew where I got my awkwardness from.

I put the cereal dishes in the sink and Bella wandered into the family room. I followed her in, and noticed her staring at the photographs. Dad had every school picture that had ever been taken of Bella and I framed and proudly presented over the fireplace.

"Do you think I could get him to take them down?" she said with embarrassment.

I laughed. "Yeah, good luck. I've been trying for years," I indicated to one particularly embarrassing shot of me with a wide grin and a missing front tooth.

She grinned. "You were so cute at that age,"

"Come on old lady," I smiled. "Drive me to school,"

We put on our thick jackets and headed out. She quickly hurried to the car, clearly already hating the weather.

"So what's the deal?" I asked bluntly.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "What do you mean?" she seemed flustered as she started the car, which roared to life quickly. Thanks to Jacob, I thought with pride.

"I mean you hate Forks," I said. "And you don't seem particularly fond of Dad… or is it still Charlie?"

She frowned at my disapproval. "You know Mom wasn't happy staying home with me while Phil travelled so I thought I should come here,"

"You're such a martyr," I said with annoyance. We stayed silent for the rest of the ride, a melancholy silence between us. If we didn't look so similar, though Bella was a bit taller and had longer hair, you wouldn't have thought we were sisters. Times like this made me feel like we were strangers. I directed her to the school by pointing, and hopped out of the car. Reluctantly, I led her into the front office.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Grace," she said quietly.

I looked at her, still irritated. "You've made it quite clear what you think about me, Dad and Forks," I said. "They can help you out," I indicated to the front desk. "See you,"

The whole school was buzzing with the news of my sister's arrival. I wasn't exactly unpopular, but I only had a few good friends and generally went by mostly unnoticed by the majority of the student body. I found myself in the spotlight as everyone tried to find stuff out about the new girl.

"They'll get over it," Natalie, one of my good friends, said as she sat beside me in Algebra.

"God, I hope so," I muttered, actually paying attention in class instead of listening to the gossip surrounding me as a few choice gossips tried to get my attention.

At lunch, I sat at my usual table with Gemma, Natalie, Ben and Ryan, and watched as my sister walked in with Jessica Stanley. I rolled my eyes; of course Jessica would want to attach herself to the instant popularity that Bella offered, being the most new and interesting thing in Forks High School.

Bella paused at my table, and our usually noisy group quietened at her approach.

"Are you still mad?" she asked, quietly enough so I was the only one that heard her.

I shrugged. "Do what you want, Bella," I said honestly, and I was happy to see her follow Jessica to her table.

"Whoa, never seen you so harsh," Ben commented. Ben Cheney was actually in Bella's year, as was Natalie, but somehow the four of us had come together when the older two had saved Ryan and me from bullies in elementary school.

"Sisters," I said as way of explanation and my response was generally accepted. I noticed Bella's interest in the Cullen family immediately. Everything was always written across her face. I felt that feeling again, my instincts telling me this wasn't a good thing. I had never particularly cared one way or the other about the Cullens; they were good looking but seemed snobby which was an immediate turn off. I looked back down at my lunch, suddenly not hungry. What problems could these beautiful people cause?

I waited at Bella's truck with Ryan after school, who was talking about going surfing at La Push. I often went with groups from school to La Push; it was a good opportunity to catch up with the Quileute boys and my school friends at the same time. Ryan looked like a typical California beach boy, which was where his parents were from. He surfed where he could here, but loved to visit his grandparents in California and try and get a tan and good surf every summer.

Bella arrived, and I introduced her to Ryan, but her mind was clearly elsewhere. Ryan cheerfully left (he was the kind of person who was perpetually happy) and I looked at Bella in concern.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I had gym," she said, and I sighed. While Bella was no doubt extremely clumsy and shouldn't be involved in any sport whatsoever, I could tell it was more than that.

"You look like you're about to cry," I said, hopping into the truck.

She sat beside me, staring blankly out the windshield for a while.

"Bella?" I said cautiously. Maybe I'd been too much of a bitch over her acting like a martyr.

"What do you know about the Cullens?"

"Beautiful snobs," I instantly responded. I touched her arm, she jumped. "Did one of them say something to you?"

"No," she said quickly. "It's nothing. I was just curious,"

"Okay," I said, not believing her. I didn't feel comfortable pushing this, so I let it go. Once again, it was a car ride of silence. I couldn't help but be sad as I realised just how far apart we had grown.

We ate dinner at the local diner that night. Dad and I were regulars, seeing how both of us rarely cooked.

Stephanie, our waitress, smiled at Bella as she gave us our burgers and fries.

"I just can't get over how grown up you are," she said. "And so gorgeous, just like your sister. You guys look like you could be twins,"

Poor Bella looked so awkward. It was always hard when people remembered you from when you were little and you had no clue who they were. Of course, I'd encountered it from a couple of my mom's friends some summers, but in a small town like Forks, Bella was going to get it a lot more than I ever had.

Waylon, one of my dad's friends, "Hey Bella, remember me? I played Santa one year,"

"Yeah, Waylon, she hasn't had a Christmas here since she was four," Dad said.

I stabbed at a fry, making Bella frown. Just goes to show how often Bella bothered coming here.

"Well, I bet I made an impression, didn't I?" Waylon said proudly, never one to let an awkward silence bother him.

"Just trying to picture you as Santa," I said, my head tilted to the side.

"Add a butt crack to your mental image and you've got it," Stephanie said, cracking me up.

She ushered Waylon aside to let us eat in relative peace, and let Bella know Dad has her former favourite, berry cobbler, every Thursday. This was true, but I'd never even known that it had been Bella's favourite. It was a dessert I'd always just associated with my dad.

"And I'll be sure to bring you waffles, Grace," she said with a friendly smile. I forced a smile, feeling uncomfortable that I'd never realised just how much my dad had missed my older sister. It was easy to see he was still in love with our mother. Anything that reminded him of her, especially in me, always made him smile. Maybe I should have pushed Bella harder to come visit Dad more often.

"What's wrong with you?" Dad asked, as I pushed the fries around my plate. "You'd have normally eaten half your burger already,"

"Just not hungry," I said quietly.

Bella shifted guiltily in her seat. We ate the rest of the meal in silence.

At least one thing I could be grateful for was that Bella could cook. Once she had learned that Dad and I very rarely cooked, she had immediately requested that she be assigned kitchen detail, and even went shopping and stocked the house with stuff that actually required cooking. She emailed and called Mom a lot, which I was grateful for because when she forgot Mom got on my case checking if Bella was okay. Geez, Mom, you've never shown me this much care. Still, I knew that Dad would be the same way if the situation was reversed.

I was surprised when, the night after the diner meal, she asked about the Cullens.

"Do you know the Cullen family?" she asked Dad hesitantly. I looked at her, but she avoided eye contact. Clearly, 'beautiful snobs' had not satisfied her curiosity.

"Dr Cullen's family? Sure. Dr Cullen's a great man,"

The Cullens had never caused Dad any problems, never broken the law, of course he liked them.

"They… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school,"

Dad looked angry, to Bella's surprise, and he looked at me.

I held my hands in the air, despite the piece of steak hanging off my fork. "Don't look at me, Dad. They exclude themselves. They're snobs."

Dad went on to defend the goodness of the Cullens, making an uncharacteristically long speech in his defence of them.

"They seem nice enough to me," Bella said.

"Do you have a crush on one of them or something?" I said, and smirked at her instant blush.

"Leave your sister alone," Dad said and we went back to eating in silence. I looked at Bella thoughtfully. So which Cullen was it that caught her eye? Jasper, Emmett or Edward? I'd make it my mission to find out.

She remained surprisingly silent on the topic, so we spent most of our time in silence when together, and I made an effort to spend time out of the house. I stayed the weekend at Jake's, hanging with him, Quil and Embry. I normally spent some time there, but it had only increased since my sister's arrival. I was more than surprised to find, when I got home Sunday, that the house had been cleaned. I knew Dad had been working (and not too happy with me that I wasn't spending the weekend with my sister or inviting her along) so it could only be Bella. It was hard to stay mad at her when she did all the housework Dad and I normally avoided.

I was thrilled by the snow the next morning, with Ryan, Ben, Natalie, Gemma and I all late to class because, like a lot of students, we got caught up in a snow ball fight. I was in a great mood all morning, which was interrupted at lunch when I got in line with Ben to buy food, right behind my sister and her friends. Another snow ball fight had erupted on the way to the cafeteria, and I had seen Bella had been less than impressed by it. She then seemed completely frozen, staring at the Cullens. Immediately, I knew exactly which brother it was that she had a thing for. She had seen the other four siblings there all week, but it was only now she had the reaction, now Edward was back. And all through lunch, Edward stared at her. He had never noticed a girl at school before, and I was intrigued that he had taken an interest in my sister.

Of course, Bella said nothing of Edward; even though I had asked around and found out they had Biology together and were partners. The next morning, I was thrilled and Bella was dismayed when the world was turned into a snowy winter wonderland. The snow the previous day had been pretty light, today was perfect. As was usual for us now, the car ride consisted of the radio for noise and no conversation. She drove excessively cautiously, considering Dad would have put snow chains on the truck. He was very protective.

I followed her to the back of the truck, where she was examining the chains with emotion. But then, Mom wasn't exactly the type to look after her kids. Her heart was in the right place, but she tended to need taking care of rather than be the one taking care of others.

I was about to say something, maybe finally attempt to bond with her; with there was a strange high pitched screech that was dramatically increasing in volume. We both turned, and my jaw dropped as I saw Tyler Crowley's dark blue van skidding out of control, heading right for where we were standing.

I barely had time to scream, "Bella!"

But out of nowhere, Edward appeared and pinned us to the ground. He stopped the truck with his hand! At least, that was the last thing I saw before I was knocked out as my head slammed against the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke in the hospital, my head pounding.

"Grace," Bella said in relief. She was in the bed beside mine in the emergency room. Most beds were separated by pastel patterned curtains, but the one between ours was open, and I saw Bella had been laying so she was facing me.

Dad took that moment to march in, fully dressed in his police uniform and looking ready to kill someone.

"Grace, Bella, are you okay?" he said, the worry in his voice obvious. To Tyler Crowley, who was in the bed beside Bella being examined, he pointed and warned, "You and I are gonna talk," he stopped at the bed, where Bella was being examined as a doctor shone a light into my eye. I winced. "You alright?"

"I'm fine Dad," she said. "But Grace hit her head, she only just woke up,"

"What?" he demanded, turning his full attention to me.

"My head hurts," I whimpered. The doctor went to get some medication for me.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

Before she could respond, Tyler interrupted us with an apology. How the hell had Edward gotten to us so fast? Even if he had been nearby… he had just appeared out of nowhere.

"I'm so sorry, I tried to stop," Tyler said to us.

I winced at the loudness of his voice.

"Grace just woke up, could you keep it down a little?" she asked, and the slight anger in her tone surprised me.

"It's okay," I spoke up.

"No, it's sure as hell is not okay," Dad said, looking restless with concern.

"Dad, it wasn't his fault," I said. The roads were crazy slippery, and not everyone had a dad like ours to put snow chains on their tyres.

"You or your sister could have been killed, Grace, you understand that?"

Bella chewed her lip, looking at me in concern. We had been so distant; it was almost odd seeing her look at me like I mattered at all.

"I'm so sorry, Grace," Tyler said, looking distressed at the thought of me being knocked out. He was a nice enough guy, but we only knew of each other (as you did most people in a small town like Forks) and had barely spoken in the past. "I thought I was going to kill you guys! I was going too fast… and I hit the ice wrong…"

Dad couldn't resist one last shot at Tyler, informing him that he could kiss his licence goodbye.

Dr Cullen then came into the room, and I saw the awe on Bella's face at his good looks that I was sure was on mine.

"I heard the chief's daughters were in," he said as he approached us.

"Oh, Dr Cullen," Dad said in relief.

"Charlie," he greeted, looking at my chart.

He examined me first, seeing how I had just woken up, and confirmed the diagnosis of a concussion, but said I should be fine to go home. Bella was confirmed as being fine, though she hit her head on the ice as well, just not as hard as I had.

Tyler took that opportunity to try and apologise again, and Dad merely closed the curtain to block him out.

"It would have been worse if Edward hadn't been there," Bella said, making my mind flash back to when he'd stopped the truck. How on earth had he done that? "He knocked us out of the way,"

"He did," I said with slow recollection.

"Edward? Your boy?" Dad asked Dr Cullen.

"He got to us really fast," I said. "He was nowhere near us, was he?" I asked Bella.

She nodded.

"Sounds like you were both very lucky," he smiled, as he confirmed we were both good to go.

Dad left to sign some paperwork, leaving Bella and I alone.

"I'm really glad you're okay," she said quietly.

I looked at her, taken aback by her sincerity. I had been mad at her, for feeling like she was above us. It seemed so trivial now, when we had almost been hit by a van.

"You too," I said honestly. There wasn't a lot more to say, but we Swans weren't exactly the overly affectionate types. We heard voices around the corner. It was Rosalie, Dr Cullen and Edward.

"This isn't just about you, it's about all of us," Rosalie said, in the perfectly snotty little way she always spoke.

"I think we should talk about this in my office," the doctor said, causing all three to turn and look at Bella and me.

What was going on here? It was like some kind of conspiracy.

I flushed red, and was surprised by Bella's courage when she asked to talk to Edward.

Dr Cullen led Rosalie away, and she glared at Edward as she left. If all was normal in this scenario, wasn't Edward supposed to be seen as a hero for saving us?

"Go see where Dad is," Bella murmured.

"He's doing paperwork," I retorted as Edward walked over to us. "He stopped a van with his hand, Bella. I'm not going anywhere,"

"What?" Edward demanded. Whoa, while he was pretty quiet, he was generally polite.

"How did you get over to us so fast?" Bella asked.

"I was standing right next to you," he said, as if she were crazy.

"No you weren't," I spoke up. He looked a little taken aback, as if he'd expected my memory to be hazy or something. "It was just Bella and I, you were nowhere in sight,"

"He was next to his car, across the lot," Bella said, folding her arms across her chest. Trust her to be aware of where he was.

"No, I wasn't," he said. "Look, you both hit your heads…"

"Yes, you were," Bella said firmly.

"Either way, you were nowhere near us," I said, backing her up. It felt odd to be teaming together.

"I think you're confused," he said.

"We both know what we saw," I said, annoyed. "You stopped the van with your freaking hand!"

He frowned. "Well, nobody's gonna believe you, so…"

"Well, that definitely wasn't a denial, was it?" I snapped. My head hurt, and I was in a bad mood already. He was pushing it.

"Grace," she said warningly, sounding so much like the classic exasperated older sister you'd think we'd been raised together. "We aren't going to tell anybody, are we?"

"I'm not Gemma, for crying out loud," I said, referring to my fun yet gossip loving friend. I looked at Edward. "I just want to know how you did it,"

"Can't you both just thank me and get over it?"

"Thank you," Bella snapped, finally reaching my level of annoyance.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No," we said simultaneously.

"Well then, I hope you enjoy disappointment," he snapped, walking off. We stared after him.

"Like we can forget any of that," I said.

"I know," she agreed. She looked at me, filled with determination. "We'll figure it out,"

Dad came and got us, driving us home. It wasn't until we arrived home that Dad looked at us both with guilt.

"You didn't," I said with a groan.

"What?" Bella asked obliviously, not able to read our father like I could.

"You'll need to call Renee," he said, confirming what I'd suspected he'd done.

"You told Mom!" Bella said, looking just as appalled as I felt.

"Sorry," he said, hands in the air.

Bella and I spoke to her on speaker phone, and she was, unsurprisingly, in hysterics. Especially since Dad had told her that I had been unconscious at the scene. We managed to calm her down, but she wanted us both to come home to her. This came as a surprise, seeing how she hadn't asked me to live with her in years.

We hung up after an hour of reassurances, and I laid back in bed, my head throbbing.

"Do you want some Tylenol?" Bella offered, and I nodded.

I took some and looked at my sister, who was lost in thought.

"Bella," I said quietly. She looked at me. "His family has to be involved, you heard Rosalie,"

"We can look into it tomorrow," she said. "Just get some rest, okay?"

Bella and I were completely in the centre of attention at school for the rest of the week. I had my usual friends and that was generally it. I was closer to the boys on the res in any case, and Bella was just as mortified as I was by the extra attention.

"That was like, so scary!" Gemma said the following day at lunch. "We were so worried about you! I heard Tyler's parents took away his driving privileges,"

"They didn't," Ben said, tearing his eyes away from the direction of my sister's table. I was surprised when I realised it was the quietly sweet Angela he had been looking at. "I live next door, remember? His parents are just glad he's okay,"

"He should have been more careful," Ryan spoke up, sounding surprisingly protective. "He could have killed Grace!"

"Guys, relax, I'm fine," I said, picking at my lunch. The pasta was limp and completely unappetizing. I gave up, though smiling as Natalie slid me a cookie.

Bella had been keeping me apprised of the Edward situation. Apparently he had claimed it was an adrenaline rush, but he couldn't actually expect either of us to believe him.

I was still curious about just how he'd saved us, but I left that to Bella. It was her he seemed to be unable to stay away from. He seemed more suspicious of me, like he thought I was going to tell everyone what I'd seen. In any case, my instincts were leading me into another direction.

Dad and I were eating cereal when Bella came in.

"Mom called again," I said with annoyance.

"Dad's fault for telling her about the almost accident," she said.

"I suppose you're right, she always did know how to worry," Dad conceded.

"And now she's actually worrying about me for a change," I said. "It's annoying," We didn't speak on the phone often, especially as I got older and seemed to drift apart from her.

"She always worries about you," Bella said, matter of fact.

"It's what parents do," Dad said, neatly changing the subject from my far from perfect relationship with my mother. "She seems different, she seems happy,"

Bella and I exchanged an uncomfortable look. Even she had seen quickly that Dad was still in love with her.

"Phil's good for her," I admitted reluctantly.

Bella nodded. "You should call her, Grace," she said. "She asks about you,"

"Then she can call me instead of you," I said, walking out.

I loved the bonfires down at La Push. Since I was pretty much glued to Jake's side since the age of six, I had come to know most of the Quileuites well and they had come to expect my presence at most of these sorts of things. I had my Forks friends, but La Push was where I really felt like I belonged.

"Big bonfire tonight," Jake informed me as we chatted on the phone that Friday night.

"Like with the stories?" I asked hopefully.

He chuckled, knowing of my love for the tribe's legends. "Nah, just a bonfire. But everyone's gonna be there."

"Is that my invite?" I asked with a laugh.

He scoffed. "Since when do you need an invite?"

"I don't," I said. "I'm in, I'll just crash on your couch."

I heard a murmuring of voices, and then Jake added, "You can invite Bella. If you want."

I rolled my eyes. Clearly Embry or Quil was there with him… I was betting Quil. "Sure, sure," I said. "I can see if she wants to come. Could save me a bus ride, anyway,"

"Ah, sisterly love," he joked.

"I watched your sisters bleach your hair," I reminded him of his own example of sisterly love.

"And one day, I will get those photos off you," he said, determined.

I laughed. "You keep thinking that, Jake."

The next morning, I got up around ten, yawning as I entered the kitchen. Bella was on the couch reading as I walking into the living room with a bowl of cereal.

"Morning," I greeted as I turned the television on, flicking to a music channel.

"I think it's almost afternoon," she teased gently.

I poked my tongue out at her. "So there's this thing down at the res tonight. A bonfire. You can come if you want,"

"No, I'm fine," she said quickly. Understandable, considering she didn't really know anyone there other than me and maybe Jake.

"Alright, if you change your mind let me know," I said through a mouthful of cereal. "I'm catching the bus down and crashing there."

"Did you need me to let Dad know?'

"Nah," I said. Dad was working on a case, so was stuck at work that weekend. "I'll text him. Besides, it's where I typically am on the weekends anyway."

The party had a great atmosphere. Most of the tribe had turned out, and I was seated in a group with Quil, Embry and Jake.

"Now this is how you cook a marshmallow," Quil said knowledgably, always the first to show off. He pulled the marshmallow out of the flames. It was completely blackened and on fire, sending the rest of us into hysterics.

"Nice job, man," Jake laughed, as Embry leaned over and blew the flames out.

"Grace!"

I looked up to see Leah Clearwater approaching me. Leah and I were often put together because her dad Harry was so close to my dad. Billy, Harry and Dad often hung out together.

"Leah," I said with a grin, hugging her hello. "How's it going?"

There had been a whole big scandal recently, where Leah's fiancée Sam Uley had broken up with her and was now seeing her cousin Emily. Sam now freaked me out with his sudden growth spurt and the way he had all of a sudden screwed over Leah, and Emily had been one of the nicest people (before she had done this to Leah), so I had fully supported Leah in her hatred of the pair.

She shrugged. "The usual," she said. "All of the staring has mostly stopped. Nothing big ever happens in La Push, and this scandal…"

"They should be judging them, not you," I said firmly. The pair was thankfully absent that night.

"How have you been?" Leah asked. "I heard your sister's arrived,"

Dad had been talking about it for weeks, so she had known well in advance that Bella was coming.

"It's weird," I admitted. "I almost felt like an only child for a while there,"

"That would be the dream," she said wistfully, looking across at her younger brother Seth who was racing around with a bunch of kids near the bonfire. "I better go sort him out. The joys of being an older sister. I'll talk to you later?"

"Sure," I said, as she went to scold her brother for mucking around too close to the fire.

I sat back down next to Jake and realised all three boys were staring at me.

"What?" I asked self-consciously.

"You're like one of the only people Leah's still nice to," Quil said bluntly.

I smacked his arm. "Hey! She deserves to be pissed off at the world. Your fiancé dumping you for your cousin slash best friend? Not cool,"

"Very true, Grace," Embry said. "But she needs to chill a bit, you know?"

I nodded, agreeing with him. Leah and I weren't super close or anything, maybe that was why it was easier for her to talk to me when I hadn't been around her and Sam as a couple as much.

We started playing truth or dare, which basically evolved into a huge game of dare. Quil did a nudie run, Embry had to ask Leah if she wanted to talk about her feelings (she nearly killed him), Jake was forced to put on his sister's dress and I had ask Billy for relationship advice for my first kiss (I wasn't sure who was more embarrassed – me or him).

"Okay, next dare," Jake said eagerly.

"I dare you to wear make up," Embry said.

"Nice!" I exclaimed, high fiving him. "It could really complete the look, Jake,"

"You have some, right Grace?" Quil said enthusiastically.

I held up my hand. "I will make Jacqueline beautiful, gentlemen,"

That sent Embry and Quil into howls of laughter, and I motioned for Jake to follow me to his house where all my stuff was.

"Jacqueline, really?" he groaned.

"What?" I said innocently. "I think it suits you,"

"If I see a camera, it's going into the bonfire," he warned me. "Those bleached blonde photos are enough ammo for whatever evil plan you have going against me,"

I smirked as we arrived at the Black house, and I started putting some lipstick on him.

"Pout," I instructed, and he did so overdramatically.

"Beautiful," I said. "We can make a lady out of you yet,"

"Thanks," he said wryly, as I added some blush.

"I love bonfires," I smiled genuinely.

"You love humiliating me," he corrected.

"That's just a bonus of being your best friend," I corrected him. "Seriously though…."

Spontaneously, I hugged him tightly. And in that instant, I realised why I always felt like I belonged here. It wasn't La Push itself. It was because of Jake. I always wanted to be near him.

Realising I had probably been holding on for too long, I quickly pulled back. We stared at each other for a moment, and he opened his mouth to say something. I panicked, wondering if he could see through me at that moment.

"Let's go show the guys how gorgeous you look," I said brightly, rushing out the door.

Okay, now to convince myself that this really wasn't a good idea. We are just best friends, we are just best friends, I chanted inwardly, and sighed when I saw him strut and pose for Quil and Embry. Even in drag, his smile stood out a mile away. I put my own smile on and tried to forget about my big revelation.

At lunch during the next week at school, I joined Ben at the table my sister usually sat at. Gemma, Natalie and Ryan never minded, because it was what normally happened when a trip to La Push was planned. Everyone knew I would join along, and joined the groups together when Jake and his friends came by.

"Hey Grace," Bella said in surprise.

"You guys look freaky alike," Jessica commented.

I made a face, making the group laugh.

"Hey, La Push baby! Are you in?" Eric said to Bella.

"Should I know what that means?" she asked.

"La Push Beach down the Quileute Res," Mike explained.

"Where Jake and Billy live," I clarified. She nodded in understanding.

"We're all going tomorrow," Mike said.

"There's a big swell coming in," I said.

Bella looked at me in surprise. "You surf? Did I get all the clumsy in the family, or what?"

Everyone laughed. "Sometimes, mostly I just always like La Push,"

"But there's whale watching too," Angela offered, always the nice one.

"Yeah, come with us," Ben spoke up, so obviously into Angela and eager to back her up.

"La Push, baby!" Eric exclaimed, as always too eager.

Bella agreed to come along. "I just have to see you on a board," she said to me.

She went to get food as we organised the trip, and I tuned out when I noticed her speaking to Edward. As far as I knew, she hadn't made much progress since he'd claimed adrenaline rush.

She sat beside me, looking shaky. "I told him I suspect he's a superhero, he said he's a bad guy," she whispered to me, the rest of the group loud enough in their discussion to not hear us. "It's just a mask, Grace, I'm sure of it. I invited him to the beach, but he didn't want to come,"

"Just be careful, Bella," I said quietly. "If he's warning you off, there's probably a good reason why."

She didn't say much for the rest of lunch, leaving me to worry about her. There was something creepy about this, I decided. I wasn't so sure I wanted to know anymore.

I ended up not surfing, instead deciding to keep an eye on the distracted Bella. She was that clumsy that when this distracted, she'd probably break something.

Angela, Bella and I sat in the van together as the rest of the group donned wetsuits.

"I just keep waiting for Ben to ask me to prom," Angela confessed. "And he just… doesn't,"

"You should ask him," Bella said.

"You should," I spoke up, making Angela look quickly at me, a light blush on her cheeks.

"Do you know something?" she asked, trying not to sound excited. I was the closest to Ben out of the three of us, after all.

"Enough to know he won't say no," I said, and she smiled brightly. Ben and Angela would be cute together.

Jake, Quil and Embry approached at that moment.

"Grace!" they greeted loudly and I ran up to them, giving them all hugs. Jake's hug was quickest, because I was that much more eager to show he was just one of the guys, not _the_ guy.

"Hey guys," I said, leading them over to the van.

"Hey Jacob," Bella said. "I'm Bella," she said to the other two.

I introduced them, and started mucking around with Quil and Embry.

"Her date bailed," I heard Jessica say, and saw my sister's cheeks flush. That is why you tell Jessica nothing.

"What date?" Eric said quickly. Seriously, was every boy in this group in love with Bella?

"She invited Edward," Jessica said.

"To be polite, that's it," Bella threw off.

"I think it's nice she invited him," Angela said. "Nobody ever does,"

"Yeah, coz Cullen's a freak," Mike laughed.

"You got that right," Quil said.

I looked at him, surprised. "You know Edward?"

"The Cullens don't come here," Embry shrugged.

The group then dispersed, with the surfers heading into the waves.

"Wanna go for a walk?" I said to Jake and Bella.

"Sure," Bella said, and Jake agreed. We headed down the beach.

"Awesome bonfire last weekend," I said to Jake. I didn't quite know how to act around him now I'd finally realised I was in love with him.

"Bella will have to come sometime," he said, giving her a grin. I frowned, but looked down at the sand. Did he have a thing for my sister?

"Sure," she said with a smile. "Hey, what did you friends mean about, you know, 'the Cullens don't come here'?"

I looked at Jake, who looked slightly embarrassed. "I'm not really supposed to say anything about it," he said, then glanced at me. "But since your sister knows pretty much all the legends…"

"They're interesting," I said defensively.

He grinned. "Well, did you know that Quileuites are supposedly descended from wolves?"

I smiled, I'd heard about that before from Billy.

"That's the legend of our tribe," he said, and I could hear the faint pride.

"I've heard that one," I said. "How does that relate to the Cullens?"

"They're the enemy clan," he explained. "My great grandfather, the chief, found them hunting on our land. But they claimed to be something different, so we made a treaty with them. If they promised to stay of Quileute lands, then we wouldn't expose what they really were to the pale faces," he ended with a smirk directed at me, and I rolled my eyes. He always loved mocking my pale skin.

"They just moved here," I reminded Jake.

"Or just moved back," he said, and my instincts screamed at me like they hadn't before. I kept walking, suddenly fearing exactly what Jake was about to reveal.

"What are they really?" Bella pushed.

"It's just a story, Bella," he said with a laugh.

"Could you give us a minute?" I said to her. Reluctantly, she nodded, and headed towards her friends further down the beach.

"What's up?" he said.

"It's not just a story, Jake," I said. "Edward Cullen saved us both the other day,"

"What, when you almost got hit by the van?"

I'd called and told him about it, but hadn't mentioned our saviour.

"He stopped the van with his hand," I said quietly.

He looked at me for a long moment. "Anyone else, I'd accuse of lying. But seriously… you know the legends as much as I do."

"Not all of them," I said. "I don't know what would relate to the Cullens,"

He sighed. "If it's true, then I really can't say anything. Because if it's true, I'll break the treaty,"

"Jake," I said, putting my hand on his arm. "Please,"

"I'd tell you if I could, you know I would," he said honestly. "But I've already said too much. I have to talk to my dad,"

"It really freaked him out," I told Bella that night. We were in my room, looking up Quileute legends on my faster computer. "He's never not told me about something to do with his tribe,"

"Well, it shows we're on the right track," she said. "Hey, there's a book we could look up in Port Angeles,"

She quickly wrote down the address.

"You can grab it," I said. "You're the one with the car and book obsession,"

She poked her tongue out at me, cracking me up. It was weird; we'd actually started talking on the way to and from school now. It had started out about finding out about Edward, but we actually were slowly starting to talk about other stuff. I'd never admit it aloud, but she wasn't totally terrible to have around.


	3. Chapter 3

I caught the bus home, since Bella was going into Port Angeles with Angela and Jessica to find prom dresses, of all things. Hardly Bella's scene, but she could pick up the book on the Quileute legends. I blasted music and danced around the house, eating macaroni and cheese for dinner. Dad coming home late didn't happen often, but was known to occur in his job so I wasn't too worried. That was, until Dad and Bella got home that night and I saw that devastated look on his face.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, turning off the TV. "What's wrong?"

"Waylon died," he said heavily. Though we weren't the type of family to generally hug, I thought this was the exception and hugged him tightly. Waylon and Dad had been friends for thirty years, and he had been like an uncle to me. He was just one of those generally well-meaning people, who would do anything for anyone.

"I'm so sorry, Dad," I said, wiping my eyes. Bella headed upstairs, and I guided Dad to the couch.

"It was an animal attack,"

"Poor Waylon," I said softly.

Dad handed me pepper spray. I knew better than to argue. I just hoped they'd find this thing soon.

The next morning, Dad was gone before we got up. I had been unable to sleep, thinking about poor Waylon. I was surprised to see Bella seemed like she'd had a bad night's sleep. I didn't question her though, mainly worried about my dad and how he was coping. He could seem stoic, but he was very caring. At least, I wasn't worried about her until she led Edward into the woods that afternoon. I watched after them from where I was sitting with Natalie, and I realised exactly why she hadn't slept well. She knew how he had saved us.

The second Bella appeared home, I was waiting in the kitchen with my arms crossed.

"What?" she said self-consciously.

"Where'd you disappear off to?" I asked.

"Oh, sorry," she said, realising I'd been left to catch the bus. I didn't mind the bus, more that she was keeping from me what we had both been searching for. "I just lost track of time, I guess,"

"You, Edward, and the woods?" I said, and she tripped over her own feet in response. She stumbled, and then sat in the chair opposite me. "People will talk, you know," she didn't say anything. "You know how he saved us, don't you?"

"He's a good person," she said defensively. "And that's enough,"

"You're not going to tell me?" I said. "Seriously?"

She looked guilty. "There's nothing to tell," She was such a bad liar.

"He's a good person?" I scoffed. "He's not even human,"

She looked at me sharply. "What?"

"I looked up your search history," I said, without shame. "Because I knew that you wouldn't tell me, because you're so blinded by this crush – "

"Stay out of my bedroom!" she snapped, getting up.

"He's a vampire," I said, and she stopped in her tracks. "How can you say he's a good person?"

"Because he is," she said passionately. "He and his family, they don't kill people. They kill animals,"

Feeling like she was missing the point, I reiterated, "He's a vampire!"

She groaned. "It doesn't matter to me. He saved both of us that day, Grace, doesn't that mean anything?"

"Has he killed people before?" I demanded.

"Yes," she admitted. I was horrified.

"Then how can you trust him, Bella?" I said. "You don't know that he couldn't just snap one day and kill you!"

"He's made mistakes, but I do trust him, Grace," she said sincerely. "I'm not afraid of him, I told you they only kill animals,"

"You don't know him,"

"I love him," she declared quietly.

"You've known him for five seconds," I scoffed.

"I know enough," she said. "I've never felt like this before about a guy. Just please, don't tell anyone,"

"What the hell are you doing?" I said, unable to believe my normally level headed sister was acting like this. I walked out, completely furious with her. She was losing her mind. How could she ever think that being with a vampire could possibly be okay?

* * *

I headed for the res, catching the last bus of the afternoon there and hoping Dad would pick me up later. I wasn't asking Bella for a lift, that was for sure.

It was when I got there that I realised I wasn't going to say anything. Damn it, why did the family loyalty have to make an appearance _now?_ With a sigh, I entered the Black family's house and grinned at the sight of Jake, with a bowl of Doritos resting on his chest as he watched TV.

"Hey," he said casually, lifting his legs up so there was room for me on the couch. He hadn't been expecting me at all (I had been too lost in my thoughts to let him know I was coming by) and he just reacted like he always did. Like somehow it was just expected that I would show up here.

"Hey," I responded, sitting down and dramatically groaning as he put his legs across my lap. "You weigh a ton, Jake,"

He responded with a fake sniff. "Well now I'm just going to have to eat my feelings away. Happy?"

I reached into the bowl and helped myself. "Only if you share,"

"So what's up?" he asked.

"Bored," I shrugged, and although I could tell he could sense _something _was up, he left it alone. A benefit of a male best friend – he wasn't going to push if it was going to end up being about feelings or my period or something. "So what are we watching?"

I was able to relax in the company of my best friend, not needing a conversation about Bella's sudden suicidal love for a vampire – just the comforting presence of Jake and the slow realisation that maybe I was just a little bit in love with him.

My dad came by to pick me up a few hours later, and as I was leaving Jake suddenly blurted, "So your sister…"

"Yeah?" I prompted.

"Is she seeing anyone?"

The hope in his tone made the smile slip off my face as I realised he was just like everyone else. He had fallen for Bella.

"Yes," I said softly. "Edward Cullen. I'll talk to you later, Jake,"

* * *

I was stiff from a lack of sleep and my hair had seen better days. All I could think about was that I had taken too long to realise how I felt about Jacob, and now I had to watch him lust after my sister. He had only ever liked one girl before, the year before and he had crushed _hard._ I had a sinking feeling he was going to behave the exact same way over Bella. And I got front row seats from my place in the friend zone. Joy.

I was downstairs packing my school bag when there was a honk out the front of the house. I looked out to see Edward and one of his obscenely expensive cars. How could you not be rich, when you had forever to amass a fortune? I briefly wondered just how old this guy was.

Knowing Bella would want a lift with him, most likely without me, I stomped out the front.

Edward raised an eyebrow.

"Good, you can give me a lift too," I said, leaving no room for argument. His eyes widened as if he could hear my nasty thoughts, in which I basically thought about how he was sure to kill my sister if I left her alone with him.

Bella walked out, stopping when she saw the tense silence between me and her new boyfriend.

"You told her?" he said, sounding disappointed.

"She went through my computer's search history," she said defensively, and after a second he nodded.

"How did you know I knew?" I demanded.

"I can read minds," he said.

I sighed. "Of course you can," I adjusted my bag. "So you know I think Bella is completely insane for trusting you?"

"Is there any way we can do this in the car?" he asked, looking at our neighbour Mrs Oliver, who was walking her dog nearby.

At Bella's pleading look, we all got in the car. Edward got us to school in no time. Vampiric senses or not, the dude was a menace.

"Can I talk to Grace alone for a moment?" he said to Bella, who agreed and got out the car.

"I understand your lack of trust," he said. "But I would do anything for Bella,"

"You just want to know that I won't tell anyone," I snapped.

He softly smiled. "Can you read minds?"

"Ha ha," I said sarcastically, then turned serious. "Bella is my sister, okay? I am absolutely terrified that you are going to literally be the death of her."

"I promise you, Grace, I will do everything in my power to protect your sister,"

It was so hard. He had saved our lives, after all. Reluctantly, I nodded. "I won't tell anyone, but if you do a single thing to endanger her…"

He nodded. "Thank you, sincerely,"

I shrugged and got out the car, rolling my eyes at Bella who had been anxiously chewing her lip.

"He's all yours," I said, walking over to Gemma who was about to burst at the sight of me exiting Edward Cullen's car.

"What have you not been telling me?" she demanded.

"Not me," I said. "Bella,"

Of course, they had to make an entrance. With sunglasses on, he and Bella walked past an astonished student body and his disapproving family. They glanced over at me, and I flushed red. Maybe Edward would protect Bella, but Rosalie looked ready to kill me.

* * *

Billy and Jake dropped by the house. Bella and I were barely speaking. While I had agreed to not say anything, I was still really worried.

I came outside, where Edward had just left Bella by her truck.

"We came to visit your flat screen," Billy said. "First Mariners game of the season. Hey, Grace," he greeted me.

"Hey Billy, Jake,"

"Hey," Jake said casually. I leaned against the truck beside Bella.

"Plus Jacob here keep bugging me about seeing you again," Billy said to Bella, making my stomach drop. Wow, he really was into her. I knew he'd crush hard.

"Great Dad, thanks," Jake said, looking embarrassed.

"Just keeping it real, son," Billy replied.

Dad came out and presented the beer, and Billy proudly presented the infamous Clearwater fish fry. My mind was completely elsewhere, focused on the shy way Jake kept glancing over at Bella. He'd never looked at me like that.

I was determined to remain casual, to act as if nothing was wrong. Nobody noticed anything amiss and as I waved goodbye to Billy and Jake, I realised that I could do this. I could pretend like everything was fine. But it didn't mean I wanted to.

"What do you mean you're going to the Cullens' house?" I demanded shrilly. "Do you actually have a death wish, Bella?"

She rolled her eyes. "Aren't I supposed to be the overprotective one? I am the oldest,"

"Fine, when I go crazy and start hanging out with a bunch of vampires, you have my full permission to go overprotective on my ass!" I exclaimed. "Until then…"

"Grace, it'll be fine,"

A knock on the front door startled me, and Bella, who was eager to get out of this conversation, went to answer it.

"Hey Edward," she said, sounding completely love-struck.

"So we don't have to actually invite you in then?" I said sourly. I had agreed not to tell anyone, I had not agreed to Bella actually going into the lion's den, as it was.

"Myth," he said.

"Shame," I responded.

"Grace!" Bella said, sounding mortified.

"I couldn't help but overhear," he said. At my annoyed look, he clarified, "Vampiric hearing, not reading your mind. In any case you're welcome to join us, Grace," he said, putting his arm around my sister.

"This just seems like the perfect opportunity to kill us both," I said bluntly.

"If he wanted us dead, he'd have just let the van hit us," Bella reminded me.

"I think it would make you more comfortable," Edward said honestly. "You know Carlisle, but the rest of the family would like to meet both of you. You two are the first to know about us, after all,"

A flash of Rosalie appeared in my head. That bitch was scary.

He chuckled. "I promise Rosalie will be on her best behaviour,"

Bella had told me how he couldn't hear her thoughts, and I was very jealous in that moment. It was so embarrassing.

"Fine," I said, and then thought at him, only so Bella isn't there alone.

He nodded, and with that, I was on a car ride heading straight towards vampire central. And who said Bella was the only crazy Swan?

The house was huge, with large windows surrounding the whole house.

"This is incredible," Bella said in awe as Edward took her coat. I stubbornly kept mine on, despite the pleasant temperature. I didn't want any attempts to make me feel welcome. I was incredibly ill at ease as it was. "It's so white and open, you know,"

"What did you expect, coffins and dungeons and moats?"

"Definitely coffins," I said, glancing around at the surprisingly modern and open home with suspicion. Bella elbowed me, and I glared at her.

We headed up the stairs, and I couldn't believe it as we passed an actual cross. I wondered if any of the myths were true. I could faintly smell garlic, so I was guessing not a lot of them were accurate.

"This is the one place we don't have to hide," Edward said as he led us up the stairs. "I did tell them not to do this…"

Curious, Bella and I followed him as he led us into the kitchen, where Emmett, Rosalie and Carlisle were… cooking? I was stunned by the normalcy presented to me, as a lovely looking woman I hadn't seen before approached us.

"Bella, Grace! We're making Italiano for you," she said with a smile.

"This is Esme," Edward introduced us. "My mother for all intents and purposes,"

Behind Esme, Emmett waved a knife at us. Bella remained calm; I nearly tripped backwards in fright. Emmett sniggered.

"Bon giorno," Bella said.

"Molto bene!" Esme replied.

"You girls have given us an excuse to use the kitchen for the first time," Carlisle said.

"I hope you're hungry," Esme said. Logically, I knew she was a vampire. But this woman was so warm, so motherly, that it seemed almost absurd to think of her in such a way.

My mouth was watering. I hadn't eaten yet, only having found out about Bella's excursion to vamp land at the last second.

"Yeah absolutely," Bella said, even though I knew she had eaten. Polite to vampires, of course she was.

"You already ate," I said, arms folded against my chest.

The bowl Rosalie was holding broke from the sheer force of her hands. "Perfect,"

"That's fine," Bella said cheerfully, appearing sick of my attitude. "Grace hasn't eaten,"

I glared at her, and then took a step back at Rosalie's glare, that suggested I eat the food or be eaten.

"Just ignore Rosalie, I do," Edward advised me.

She didn't look impressed at that, which made me snigger quietly.

"Well, if you're hungry, Grace…" Esme needled, looking just the type to feed me seconds and thirds to make sure I was well fed.

"Let's just keep pretending like this isn't dangerous for all of us!" Rosalie exclaimed.

"Somehow I think it's more dangerous for us to be here," I said, annoyed. All my assumptions about the snotty girl were right – she clearly only thought about herself.

"Grace!" Bella said angrily. To the Cullens, "I would never tell anyone anything,"

"She knows that," Carlisle said, his arm around his wife.

"It's not Bella that's the greatest concern though is it," Rosalie said, turning her glare onto me.

My proudest moment was glaring back, instead of running out of the house screaming like I really wanted to do.

"I promised my sister I wouldn't say anything," I said, trying to be civil. I looked at her, daring her to contradict my words. I don't know where this sudden bravery came from, but it was better than feeling completely terrified.

"Well the problem is Bella and Edward have gone public now, so…"

"Emmett," Esme warned.

"No, they should know," Rosalie said. "The entire family will be implicated if this ends badly,"

"Badly?" I said incredulously. "So you want us to feel bad if Edward snaps and kills Bella?"

The tension in the kitchen reached a high, which was abruptly broken by the appearance of Alice and Jasper, who walked in through the window.

"Hi, Bella!" Alice said brightly. "Hello, Grace,"

Jasper followed behind her, looking deadly serious as usual. I suppose trying not to kill people would cause that expression.

"I'm Alice," she said, as if I hadn't gone to the same school as her in such a tiny town for the past year or so. She hugged me, then Bella, making me terrified once again. "Oh, you do smell good," she said with a cheeky grin to my sister.

"Alice, what are you…" Edward began.

"It's okay, we're all gonna be great friends," she said knowingly. Bella hadn't mentioned if Alice had a… talent like Edward's, but my instincts were telling me she did.

"Jasper's our newest vegetarian, and it's a little difficult for him,"

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," he said, without taking a breath I noticed. Oh God, this was so creepy!

"It's okay Jasper, you won't hurt them," Alice said confidently, though I certainly wasn't so sure.

"Alright," Edward said, looking much like any other teenage boy embarrassed by their family. "I'm gonna take you on a tour of the rest of the house,"

"Grace was hungry, wasn't she?" Alice said brightly. "Why don't you stay and eat?"

I sent Bella a panicked look, to which she replied, "You wanted to come, right?"

"So you wouldn't be alone," I whispered fiercely, though Alice led me to the table.

"I'll see you later," she said cheerfully to Bella.

"Okay," she said.

The couple went off, leaving me with six vampires and surprisingly delightful smelling Italian.

"Cute…" Esme said, sounding thrilled.

"We'll get you a plate, Grace," Carlisle said, while Esme instructed Rosalie to clean the broken bowl up.

Alice sat opposite me, while Jasper left the room.

"You don't trust us yet," she said. "But you will, I promise,"

"Edward can read minds," I said. "What can you do?"

"I can see the future," she said with a smile.

I was shocked. This was surreal. "Whoa, that is insane," I said, accepting the plate Esme handed me as Rosalie stormed out of the room, closely followed by Emmett.

"I hope you like it," she said hopefully, and I sampled a taste. I knew, at the very least, they weren't going to poison me. "Wow, that's really good," I said, somewhat more at ease without Rosalie glaring at me. "Thanks,"

"You're welcome," she said brightly, as she and Carlisle went to clean up the kitchen.

Alice was looking at me thoughtfully.

"What?" I said, flushing red.

"Just thinking of things to come," she said cryptically. "I know we can trust you, and you'll come to trust us."

Then she started talking about makeup, clothes and boys at school. I believed her interest in makeup and clothes, but hardly in the boys at school. She was surprisingly easy to talk to, once you forgot she was a vampire. Esme joined us at the table, and I was right in thinking of her as the mother of the group.

By the time I finished up, Bella and Edward had returned. On the drive home, Bella looked like she'd had the time of her life.

"What'd you think?" she asked me once we'd arrived home.

"I trust Esme and Alice not to kill you," I said. "And maybe Carlisle, but that's about it,"

She actually smiled at that. "It'll be fine, I promise,"

She really just had to jinx it, didn't she?


	4. Chapter 4

Dinner was at the diner, just like every Thursday night. Dad and I were debating the Mariners game when Bella arrived.

"I'm sorry I'm late, biology project," she said, sitting down.

"I got you the spinach salad," I said, knowing that was what she liked.

"Thanks," she said, then looked at the steaks Dad and I had ordered. "Maybe you should order one of these next time, cut back on the steak,"

"Hey, I'm as healthy as a horse," Dad said, though looked pleased that she cared enough to worry.

"Yeah," I said, my mouthful of meat. "Meat is good for you,"

"Charming," Bella laughed.

"So, chief… boys wanna know," Stephanie approached the table, looking solemn. "Did you find anything by Creets River today?"

Dad had been searching hard, trying to track what had killed Waylon. A lot of his friends ate here, and they all looked at Dad for answers.

"Yeah, we found a bare human footprint," he sighed. "But it looks like whoever that is; it's headed to East…"

I tuned out as I realised, completely horrified, exactly what had killed Waylon. I looked at Bella, who shook her head slightly. So it wasn't one of the Cullens. Seriously, just as I started feeling not as horrified by the idea of vampires, this had to come along.

The moment of horror was interrupted by Mike Newton shaking his ass through the window at Bella.

"Mike's shaking his ass at you," I told her, pointing behind her.

She sighed.

"It's okay, if you wanna go join them," Dad said. "Your sister and I can argue sport statistics til the cows come home,"

"Only because you won't see I'm right," I said with a cheeky grin.

"I was going to turn in early anyway," Bella said.

"Bella, it's Friday night, go out," he urged. "I'm sure Grace's heading down to La Push…"

"No, I'm not," I said. Ever since Jake had asked if Bella was seeing someone, thus revealing to me he liked her, he liked to talk about Bella. A lot. And all I could think about was him. A lot. So at the moment, I was trying to stop thinking about him all the time and to do that I had to spend a bit of time away from him.

"Are you and Jacob fighting?" Dad asked. "Coz normally I can't get you off the res,"

"We're not fighting," I said, which we technically weren't. I was just avoiding him. "Yeah, go get your party on Bella," I said, trying to get the conversation back onto her. This was handy, normally all of Dad's attention focused on me. It was good to be able to redirect his focus.

"Looks like the Newton boy's got a big smile for you," Dad hinted. I looked at him, amused.

"Yeah, he's a good buddy," she said.

"What about any of these other yahoos in town?" he asked, glancing out the window at the group of Bella's friends. "Anybody interest you?"

"Oh God," I groaned. Was this girl talk or something?

"Dad, we're gonna talk about boys?" Bella asked, clearly sharing my horror.

"I guess not," he said. "I just feel like I leave you girls alone too much, you should be around people. Especially you Bella, when your sister isn't fighting with Jacob she's hardly around,"

"We're not fighting," I groaned. Since when was Dad so observant?

"I don't mind being alone," Bella said. "I guess I'm kind of like my dad in that way,"

He looked satisfied with that.

"But then I can always hang with Grace now her and Jacob are fighting," Bella teased, making Dad chuckle.

"Oh come on, where is the sisterly back up?" I complained.

Bella chose to tell Dad she was going on a date with Edward Cullen when he was cleaning a gun. Not that a gun could hurt Edward, but still. Weird timing.

I had been watching TV in the next room, which I turned down in favour of being nosy. Hey, I had little to do now I was avoiding Jacob, so sue me.

"He's a little old for you, isn't he?" Dad said, which was so true it made me quietly laugh.

"No… he's a junior, I'm a junior," Bella said. Liar, liar, pants on fire. "I thought you liked the Cullens?"

"I thought you didn't like any of the boys in town," he retorted.

I burst out laughing at that.

Dad sent me a look telling me to mind my own business.

"Edward doesn't live in town," Bella said. "Technically,"

"He's outside, isn't he?" I said with a grin, opening the front door to reveal Edward. Even though Dad couldn't harm him… I was still eager to see him attempt to intimidate him. After all, the only guy I ever had around was Jake and Dad had known him forever. Not that anything romantic would happen there, seeing how Jake was obsessed with Bella.

"Yeah, he wanted to meet you officially," Bella said, sending me an annoyed look. What were little sisters for?

"Alright," Dad said, closing his gun. "Bring him in,"

"You heard the man," I said, nudging Edward in.

"Could you be nice?" Bella said quietly to Dad, but aimed a look at me too. "He's important,"

Dad mimed a halo around his head, smirking at me.

"Chief Swan, I wanted to formally introduce myself," he said solemnly. "I'm Edward Cullen,"

He really acted like he was from another time. I couldn't even imagine Jake talking to my dad like that.

"Hi, Edward," Dad said.

"Bella won't be out too late tonight, she's just going to play baseball with my family,"

"Baseball?" I said incredulously. One, Bella was the clumsiest person ever, and two, his family were vampires. I kind of wanted to see this.

"Yes, that's the plan,"

Dad chuckled. "Bella's gonna play baseball?"

"Please take photos," I said, for a moment forgetting of my suspicions on vampires and just wanting to see this.

"Grace," Dad said with a slight warning, but his own amusement kind of ruined the warning. He looked at the couple. "Well, good luck with that,"

"I'll take good care of her, I promise,"

_You better_, I think at Edward. He nods at me slightly in acknowledgement.

The pair goes to leave, but Dad motions for Bella to come back.

"You still got your pepper spray?"

"Yeah, Dad," she said, completely embarrassed.

We watched them leave, and I had to smirk. "Kids grow up so fast, don't they?"

"Smart ass," he muttered, though looked happy to be distracted from Bella going on a date; even if it was with his family (he didn't know they were vampires, after all). "When you and Jake make up, I'm sure I'll be standing at the door watching you go out on a date,"

I blushed at the realisation that even my father was aware of how I felt about Jake. "No, you won't," I said quietly. "Because he likes Bella,"

Dad had a sudden look of understanding, and I was thankful when he didn't push it.

"Well come on kiddo, wanna grab some dinner?"

Dad and I were chilling on the couch watching a baseball game when Bella stormed in.

"Edward, I said leave me alone!"

"Bella, don't do this, please,"

"It's over, get out!" she yelled, slamming the door in his face and storming up the stairs.

"Hey, hey, hey," Dad said, as we followed her. "Bella, what's going on?"

"I just gotta get out of here," she said. "I'm leaving, now,"

She slammed the door in his face, and we stared at it in shock. What the hell had happened that would drive her out of Forks? Or even more importantly, what would provoke her to break up with Edward?

I went to storm into her room, but Dad gave me a look so serious I immediately backed off. He knocked gently on the door.

"Bella?" he called. "Bella, what's going on?"

She came out with a packed bag, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

"Bella…" I said in shock. Was she seriously leaving us?

"Did he hurt you?" Dad asked as she got stuff out of the bathroom.

"No,"

"Did he break up with you?" I asked.

"No, I broke up with him," she said, which had to be a lie. She had been so in love with him that she had been willing to overlook that he wasn't human. She wouldn't just break up with him. She went back into her bedroom, slamming the door in our faces again.

"I thought you liked him," Dad said.

"I thought you loved him," I said, getting a shocked look from Dad.

She came out of her room again. "Yeah, that's just why I have to leave. I don't want this, I have to go home." She was in the bathroom again. All this back and forth was making me dizzy, or maybe it was the thought that Bella was actually leaving.

"Home? Your mom is not even in Phoenix," he said.

"She'll come home, I'll call her from the road," Bella said. Of course Mom would go rushing back for Bella.

"You don't have to drive home right now," Dad said, seriously worried now. "You can sleep on it, if you still feel like going in the morning we'll take you to the airport,"

We followed Bella downstairs. "No, I want to drive, it will give me more time to think," she said determinedly. "If I get really tired, I'll pull into a motel, I promise."

"Bella, I know I'm not much fun to be around, but I can change that and we can do more stuff together," he said.

"I'll stop hanging around La Push all the time, and hang out with you," I said, my voice shaking. I should have made more of an effort. We were too set in our ways, Dad and I. We had a routine and stuck to it but Bella had seemed fine, even happy to be alone.

"Like what? Watch baseball on the flat screen?" she said, making me recoil in shock. "Eat at the diner every second night? Steak and cobbler? That's you guys, that is not me!"

"You bitch," I snarled. How dare she speak to Dad that way. He loved her so much, and she was throwing the very way we lived our lives in our faces, like she was too good for us.

"Bella, come on," he said pleadingly, keeping a hold of me in case I went to attack her again. "We just got you back,"

She paused at the door, shaking her head. "You know if I don't get out now, I'm just gonna be stuck here like Mom was, like Grace is," she walked out, slamming the door behind her.

We stared at the front door, as if it were the reason for our devastation, not Bella. Dad stood stoically, but I clung to him, trying not to cry.

For two days we existed in near silence, both still stunned that Bella had left. I had finally started to feel like I had a sister again, and then she disappeared.

Then Mom rang, completely frantic about how Bella was in hospital because she had fallen and broken her leg. Dad and I remained silent on the drive to the airport, the flight and the drive to the hospital. I was imagining the worst, and wondering if it was vampires. But then if it was vampires, how did she survive?

Dad and Mom talked quietly with the doctor (Phil was away with work), while I sunk into the chair beside her bed. It was hard, being so mad at her and seeing her lie there, so still and yet to wake up. The story was Edward came to Phoenix with his dad to get Bella to return to Forks, she went over to their hotel and tripped down two flights of stairs and a window, losing a lot of blood and breaking her leg. One look at Edward, leaning against the wall opposite Bella, had me convinced that was not what happened.

Once the adults left the room I looked at him. "What happened?"

He told me everything, about how the vampires that killed Waylon were after Bella, and one called James had almost killed her when the Cullens managed to save the day. Before I could respond, my mom came in. Edward excused himself to get some coffee. I scoffed internally at the thought of him drinking anything other than blood.

"Hey baby girl," she said to me with a smile, wrapping her arms around me.

"Hey Mom," I said, patting her on the back awkwardly.

"It's a shame I only get to see you in a situation like this," she said, looking at my unconscious sister in concern.

"I'm glad she's going to be okay," I said honestly.

"Yeah," she said with a soft smile. She turned to me, looking hesitant. It wasn't a look I was used to seeing on my mother's face. She was the type to blurt things out, not overly think about what she had to say. "I found it hard when you left, Grace,"

I looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

"I understood why you were going, and I loved you more for it," she said fondly, brushing a piece of hair behind my ear. "You didn't want your dad to be alone. But I made a mistake when I let it rule our relationship. It was hard to be around you, because the more I was around you the more I just wanted you home with me."

"Mom," I said, honestly touched. The greater the distance grew between us, the more I felt like it was somehow my fault, and that she didn't like me.

"If you ever want to come and live with me, the option is there," she said. "I know you love living with your dad but… I just miss you baby girl."

"I miss you too," I admitted. "But Forks is home, you know?"

"I really don't," she said with a gentle laugh. "But maybe we could make some time during the summer? Come into the sun for once?"

"My skin might actually burst into flames," I warned her with a grin.

She laughed. "Oh honey, you got your dad's vampire skin," she teased.

I laughed loudly at that. "That's what happens in Forks," I said. I looked down at Bella. "She'll wake up soon, right?" I asked, letting a small piece of vulnerability show in front of my mother.

"She sure will," she said comfortingly. "She just needs a bit of rest. Classic Bella, huh Grace?"

"Yeah," I said softly, watching her fragile looking body as she slowly breathed. "Classic Bella,"

Classic Bella, risking alienating us so she could save us. Classic Bella, trying to sacrifice herself to save the Cullens. It was kind of hard to be mad at her after that.

I got on the phone and called Jake. I missed him too much to keep avoiding him, especially with all this going on.

"How's it going?" he answered immediately. Dad had already let Billy know, so Jake already knew about Bella's 'fall down the stairs'.

"She's going to be okay," I said softly. "We had a fight before she left and now… now Mom's here and it's all just freaking me out."

"Hey," he said strongly. "You're Grace Swan. You don't take shit from Embry, Quil or me. You can handle us, you can handle your dad, you can handle anything."

"Thanks, Jake," I said softly. He really did believe in me. I saw my dad talking to the doctor, and wanted to find out if there had been any change in Bella's condition. "I have to go,"

"Hope Bella gets better soon," he said, and I couldn't even feel bitter that he liked her. I was just glad she was going to be okay. I hung up as Mom burst out of the hospital room.

"She's awake!" she beamed.

_She's awake_, I thought with great relief, rushing towards my big sister suddenly grateful for Edward, of all people. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't want to stay in Forks with me and Dad.


	5. Chapter 5

As I had guessed, Bella was determined to stay in Forks, and determined to stay with Edward. Mom had wanted Bella to come home to her, and Dad had been surprised to find Bella wanted to come home with us.

She had awkwardly apologised to Dad, but insisted she wanted to come home. So we returned to Forks, Bella's leg in a cast. It could have been a lot worse. It was hard to believe that while I had been at home, cursing her for leaving and everything she had said to me and Dad – she had been trying to sacrifice herself and a vampire had tried to kill her.

I got invited to my friend Ryan's party, but was hesitant to leave Bella.

"You're hovering," she said drily, though I could tell from the small smile that she appreciated it a little.

"Ryan's having a party," I said, leaning against her doorframe.

"You should go," she said. "I'm pretty beat anyway."

"Well, call if you need anything," I said, heading off to get ready.

* * *

"I'm really glad you made it," Ryan beamed at me, his golden hair slicked back.

I smiled, surprised at his enthusiastic response to my presence. I had known Ryan since elementary school – we had been friends for a year or so longer than with Natalie, Ben and Gemma. We were pretty casual with each other, especially seeing how I spent a lot of my time with Jacob and the boys down at the Res.

"Of course I did," I said. "Wouldn't miss a Ryan party."

They did tend to have a legendary status. He grinned and led me into the kitchen. I grabbed a Coke.

"Not drinking tonight?" he asked.

"Dad can sometimes tell," I reminded him, and he winced at the memory of my dad lecturing us on the legalities of drinking. "I'd rather not stress him out, not after Bella's accident."

"How is she?" he asked, and I was relieved to find that, unlike the rest of the males our age, he did not seem into her.

"Not too bad," I said, waving as I spotted Natalie and Gemma. They came over and grabbed a drink each.

We all stood around chatting until Ryan was summoned to crank the music up.

"So…" Gemma said slyly, giving me a look. "How's it going?"

"What's with the tone?" I asked suspiciously.

"What?" she said with mock innocence.

"Has Ryan made his move yet?" Natalie interjected.

I looked at her curiously. "Who's he making his move on? I didn't know he liked anyone."

At this, Gemma and Natalie gave me a look that suggested I was very ignorant.

"Grace," Natalie said carefully. "He likes _you._"

"You have to know," Gemma said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "He's loved you forever."

"What?" I asked faintly.

"How could you have not noticed?" Gemma continued. "He nearly died when you almost got hit by that car, he walks you to your car every day, he always sits next to you, he throws these parties so you're with him instead of with Jacob…"

I gaped at her, realising that the gossip queen was right. "Oh my god! How could you have not told me?"

"We thought you knew!" Gemma exclaimed, and Natalie nodded.

"How could I know?" I said. "We've been friends forever. So he's going to make a move?"

"Tonight," Gemma nodded, always the one in the know.

"You've been hanging around us more," Natalie said softly. "He's hoping that this is his shot, now you're not around Jacob all the time."

My stomach lurched. Did everyone know my feelings about Jake?

"What are you going to do?" Gemma asked eagerly, clearly wanting me to choose Ryan. What she didn't understand was that there wasn't a choice to be made between Ryan and Jake. Not when my best friend was in love with my sister.

Ryan reappeared before I could answer the question.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked me, and I nodded. Natalie watched after us, looking worried, while Gemma bounced in excitement.

He led me into his bedroom, a room I had seen a thousand times before. His gleaming Mac computer was atop his desk, and the room was littered with surfing paraphernalia. He had a few photos up, and I noticed I was in most of them, as most were group shots.

The photograph beside his bed, however, was a picture of me and him from his birthday party the year before. I vaguely remembered the photo being taken; I was more than a little tipsy at the time. He was looking down at me, a fond smile on his face as I smiled brightly at the camera.

How had I not seen this coming? Then I realised just how I hadn't seen this coming. I had been too focused on Jake, for years really, to notice that my close friend had fallen for me.

"So, what's up?" I asked, and he ran his hands through his hair nervously.

"I need to tell you something," he said, exhaling loudly. "And I need you not to freak out."

"Okay," I said calmly. I wasn't sure why I was so calm. It wasn't like I had any idea of what I was going to do or say once he made this confession to me. I'd never really thought about Ryan in any context other than being my friend. He was very good looking, that was for sure. Blonde, tall, tan and an optimist. He definitely stood out in a town like Forks.

"I like you," he said in a rush. "Not just in a we've been friends forever kind of way. But in a I want you to be my girlfriend kind of way."

I nodded, unsure of what to do. I was still a bit stunned by it all, to be honest.

"Grace?" he said carefully, standing a bit closer to me. "Is there something going on between you and Jacob?"

I shook my head wordlessly.

"Could use some words here," he said, looking nervous as hell.

"I don't…. I don't know," I said. "You're Ryan and I'm Grace and I've known you since the Superman phase…"

He gave me a grin. "My most handsome of phases though, right? I totally worked those Clark Kent glasses."

I burst into laughter, and it struck me just how _easy_ it could be with Ryan. He knew me almost as well as Jake did. He was always there for me. My laughter died down as he took a step closer to me.

"Do you…" he began, and I leaned in and kissed him. I felt him smile against my lips and couldn't help but smile back. This could really work.

In kissing him, Ryan and I became official. In being seen kissing after we came back downstairs, the entire school knew pretty quickly too.

* * *

"Hey, Dad?" I said cautiously, walking into the living room. I had been seeing Ryan for a week or so, and while I didn't love him yet, I was starting to think that one day I might.

"Is this about you dating Ryan?" Dad asked and I gaped at him. He smirked. "Like I don't have spies all over town checking what my kids are up to."

Ironic, considering Bella was dating a vampire. I couldn't even get away with dating a regular person.

"Okay, so you know," I said with relief, going to leave. Maybe I could skip the questioning that seemed innate in Dad at times as a police officer.

"Hold it," he said, and with a heavy sigh I sat beside him on the couch. "I thought you liked Jacob?"

I rolled my eyes. "He likes Bella," I reminded him. "And you know Ryan. He's good for me."

Everyone loved Ryan, and that included my dad. At least, before I started dating him. "Alright," he said, giving me a look that suggested he wasn't quite convinced. "Just… be careful, okay?"

"Will do," I said cheerfully, getting up once again. "Oh, and we're going to the dance together. Okay, bye!"

Ryan and I drove with Bella and Edward to the dance. Edward drove and Ryan couldn't stop smiling at me, telling me how beautiful I was.

"You're not so bad yourself," I whispered, and he gave me a kiss.

"You're making me feel like a chaperone," Bella teased from the front seat.

"I'd tell you to make out but Edward's driving and I don't want to die," I said, making Ryan laugh and put his arm around me.

We got out and Bella took my arm for a moment. "I'm glad you have Ryan," she said softly. "He seems to make you happy."

"He does," I said honestly. I glanced away and something caught my eye. "Jacob?" I breathed. I wasn't exactly avoiding him lately. But what with being around Ryan so much, I didn't have as many free days as I used to go and hang down at the res with the boys.

"I need to talk to you," Jake said, looking at Bella and I. Ryan looked over curiously, but Edward walked Ryan a little away from us, talking cars and surfing.

Jake appeared in white shirt, dress pants and tie. I raised an eyebrow at him, I'd never seen him dressed like that before.

"Nice," he nodded at us.

"You too," I said quietly. It was unsettling, seeing him like this. I was really trying with Ryan.

"Did you come with a date?" she asked, looking at me for a moment. I didn't know how she didn't get that he was into her. It was the whole reason I was trying to move on with Ryan.

"No," he said, coming to sit beside Bella. "My dad got me to come talk to you, but just don't get mad okay? He wants you to break up with your boyfriend."

"He's just… he said, quote, 'We'll be watching you.'"

"Creepy," I said dully.

Bella laughed slightly, as if she didn't know why Billy Black would be warning her like this, and Jacob played along, like he was ignorant too. "Okay, well, tell him thanks."

"Okay," he laughed.

Bella excused herself to go inside with Edward, and Jake looked over at Ryan, who was waiting by the door for me.

"I should go," I said awkwardly. It didn't seem right, how it had gotten awkward between us.

"I miss you, Grace," he said, and the sincerity in his voice couldn't be faked. "You got a new boyfriend, huh?"

"Yeah," I said. "He's really good to me, Jake."

"Course he is," he scoffed. "He knows me and the guys would kill him if he wasn't."

"Yes, well, you are very threatening," I teased lightly. "I'll come by this weekend, alright?"

"I'll hold you to it," he said, walking away. He paused then turned back to me. "Looking good, Swan."

"You too, Black," I laughed. I turned and walked over to Ryan. "Sorry…"

"Hey," he said gently. "I know he's your best friend. I don't want you to stop seeing him or anything. I trust you."

I smiled at him and leaned up to give him a kiss. "Thank you," I said. I could only ever distance myself so much from Jake. But if anyone understood me, it was Ryan. "Now, shall we?"

"We shall," he said, holding out his arm. I took it with a laugh and we headed into the dance.

Bella was back and happy to be here in Forks. I had Ryan by my side and awesome friends. As Ryan spun me around I couldn't help but feel on top of the world.

How was I supposed to know that there were forces in play that would change everything?


	6. Chapter 6

Bella's eighteenth birthday was cause for celebration, and it was the first one we had gotten to spend with her in years.

I was bouncing with excitement, as Dad knocked on her bedroom door.

"Happy birthday!" I said, bouncing in ahead of Dad and sitting at the end of her bed.

"Happy birthday," Dad echoed, much more restrained than I was as he carried Bella's presents in.

"Thanks," she said, shifting on the bed to give me room. "I thought we agreed, no presents."

"That's a stupid rule," I informed her. "Everyone deserves presents on their birthday."

She laughed and turned to Dad.

"Well, the one from me and Grace isn't wrapped, so it doesn't count," he said, handing her a camera. I rolled my eyes at his logic.

"It's actually great," she said with a smile. "Thanks, guys."

"It goes with this one with your mom," he said, handing her a wrapped gift. "We all coordinated."

"Well, she coordinated us," I said. She opened it to reveal a photo album. "It's for your senior year."

"Senior year," Dad said wistfully. "How'd you get so old so fast?"

"I didn't," she said defensively. "It's not that old."

When Bella hadn't been excited for her birthday; I put it down to Bella being Bella. A little odd, but I was sure I could make sure she had a good day. As I realised her fear of aging, most likely because her vampiric boyfriend never would, I knew I would have to put more effort in to make it a good day.

"I don't know," Dad said.

"Is that a grey hair?" I said, unable to resist.

"No, no way," she said, looking horrified then relieved when she saw in the mirror there was no grey in her dark hair.

Dad put his hands in the air, looking pleased with himself. "Happy birthday."

Dad left, and Bella looked at me. "Nice," she said sarcastically.

"Be nice, or I won't give you your other gift," I said, revealing a wrapped gift from behind me.

She sighed, sitting back on the bed. "Grace…"

"I know I put in for the camera," I said. "But that's only because Mom was determined you get what she wanted. Here."

She opened it to reveal a beautiful old journal. "Wow, this is really great," she sounded genuinely pleased.

I grinned. "Don't sound so surprised," I then turned serious. "There's a lot of stuff you don't talk about with anyone, and I thought it'd be nice if you got it out somehow."

She turned the journal in her hands thoughtfully. "I think you might be right."

"Come on, I'll shout you breakfast at the diner," I said. "Another part of my gift to you is not cooking."

She laughed, no doubt remembering when I tried to make brownies a few weeks earlier and started a fire. From there on, Dad and Bella had demanded I stay out of the kitchen.

"Thanks, Grace."

* * *

We got to school that morning, and I had been forced to promise that I wouldn't reveal to anyone that it was her birthday. Reluctantly, I had agreed. I wished she didn't have this issue with being older. She was only eighteen, she seriously needed to chill.

She took a picture of her friends with the camera we got her, and then Edward arrived. Her friends couldn't be more obvious in their dislike of the Cullens and left quickly.

"Happy birthday," he greeted her.

"Don't remind me," she said uncomfortably.

"She has an aversion to being old," I informed him. While I was still not that comfortable with him being a vampire, I was nice to him for Bella's sake.

He laughed. "I think eighteen is a little young to start worrying about that, besides Bella, your birth is definitely something to celebrate."

"Agreed," I said brightly. "Which is why you should have let me throw you a party."

"No," she said quickly, her face going red at the mere thought.

"Fine," I said, hands in the air.

The pair got all lovey dovey, which was thankfully interrupted by Jacob's approach. Since Ryan and I had gotten together, I had slowly began to let go of my feelings for Jacob, so seeing him was finally not weird for me anymore. Edward awkwardly went to stand a bit further away, giving our upcoming conversation with Jacob the illusion of privacy, considering his hearing and mind reading skills.

"Hey Jake," I said brightly. It was rare for him to come to Forks High.

"Hey Grace," he smiled.

"Hello, biceps," Bella said with a grin. It was true, Jake had really bulked up. Unfortunately for me, this only made him even hotter.

"I told him anabolic steroids are really bad for you," I joked. He had bulked up so quickly.

"I'm just filling out," he laughed, shoving me lightly. I smirked. "And maybe if you came by with Grace once in a while, it wouldn't seem so drastic," he teased, but it was easy to see how much he wanted to spend time with her.

"You should switch schools," she suggested. "You can come hang out with the pale faces."

"I'm alright, I can never get rid of this one," he said in a joking tone, and I covered my hurt with a laugh. "Anyway, I prefer the res school's exclusivity," he said, glancing at Edward.

"So what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I heard it was someone's birthday," he grinned.

"Grace," Bella said, embarrassed.

"Jake!" I hissed. I was supposed to be keeping it a secret, after all. I hadn't counted on Jake turning up at school.

He laughed. "Happy birthday anyway, Bella," he said. "I'm picking up a part for the Rabbit, you should come by and take a ride when it's done."

"It's going to be awesome," I said supportively.

"Is it fast?" Bella asked.

"It's decent," Jake laughed, trying to hide that he might never get it going. I shifted uncomfortably. I may be getting over him, but I didn't exactly enjoy watching him flirt with her. A glance over at Edward told me he didn't appreciate it much, either.

"So I saw this the other day and thought of you," he said, bringing out a dream catcher. "It catches bad dreams."

Assuming that vampires were all a bad dream, now that I could get on board with.

"It's kinda perfect," she said as she accepted the gift. I wondered what kind of dreams she was having, especially after James. "Thank you."

"Good seeing you," he said, giving her a hug. Bella smiled and waved as she walked over to Edward.

"You're never going to break them up you know," I informed him.

He smirked. "You just wait and see," he said. "I can be patient. I'll see you later?"

"Sure," I said, heading into school to find my boyfriend.

* * *

Alice was throwing a birthday party for my sister at the Cullen house. I had politely declined, though I would have been ruder if Bella hadn't been there beside me. I wasn't sure what Alice saw, because I couldn't see a time where I would want to be friends with any of them. Dad and I ate at the diner for dinner (with no Bella, we had little option) and Dad went to bed early since he had had an early start the following morning.

I was up watching some trashy television when Bella entered the house.

"Hey," she said, quickly going to head upstairs.

"Wait," I called, catching her bandaged arm. I caught up to her. "What happened to your arm?"

"Oh, I tripped and fell," she shrugged. Wow, she really was a bad liar.

I caught sight of a smudge of blood on the bandage and felt my stomach plummet. "Is that blood?"

She put her arm behind her and sighed. "Yeah, it's just a little…"

"You _bled _in the presence of vampires?" I exclaimed.

"Sh," she said, reminding me of our ignorant father's presence in the house. "It's fine, Grace, seriously. "

"So one of them attacked you then?" I said knowingly. "You aren't safe around them, Bella!"

"I would be if…" she trailed off, as if fearing my reaction.

I felt sick. "If what? If you became one of them? If you completely left us behind?"

"No, that isn't about you or Dad," she insisted. "It's about me…"

"You are delusional if you think you becoming a vampire won't affect me, Dad, or even Mom," I informed her. "I think we'd notice it when you essentially _died."_

She sighed. "Can we not do this right now? I'm kind of wrecked. Big night."

I shook my head at her sadly. "Is he really more important to you than we are?"

I left her with that thought as I stormed into my bedroom. What was wrong with my sister? Could she really think that an eternity with the Cullens was better than a lifetime with the Swans?

* * *

"So how long til your big surfing trip to California?" I asked Ryan. I was sitting on his bed, attempting to do some homework. My concentration was diverted quickly, however, as he ran his hand up my leg.

"Couple of months," he said. "You should come."

"To California?" I said in surprise.

"Yeah," he said, kissing my neck. I put my homework down. It could wait. "You, me, the beach. Even the actual sun for a change…"

"I don't know," I murmured, hiding my excitement. A trip to somewhere so sunny sounded _amazing._ "I get pretty sunburned. I might need some convincing…"

"You mean you'd go?" he said hopefully, a bright smile breaking out over his handsome face.

"Maybe," I teased, kissing him. "Think you can persuade me?"

He smirked. "I'll give it my best shot," he said, kissing me as he shifted to lie on top of me. I giggled as my homework hit the floor.

"Ryan?" his mother called, and I couldn't help but laugh at the inopportune timing.

"It's like she has an alarm that goes off every time…" he muttered.

"We'll get there, Romeo," I said, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "I should get going anyway. Don't want the sheriff to come knocking if I'm late for dinner, right?"

Ryan sighed heavily, giving me a proper kiss goodbye. "This isn't over," he promised me, and I smirked back at him.

"Counting on it," I murmured into his ear, bouncing out of the room with a grin.

* * *

"Have you seen Bella?" Dad asked me urgently as soon as I walked inside.

"No," I said, taken aback by the panic in his voice. "I was with Ryan. Isn't she home?"

"She left this," he said, pushing a note across the table to me. It was Bella's handwriting, telling Dad she had gone for a walk into the woods. My stomach sank. It was already dark out. And since when did Bella go for a stroll in the woods?

"We should go look for her," I said immediately.

"I'll organise a search party," he decided with a nod. With the efficiency he used so often as sheriff, Dad called and quickly organised a search party of local cops and coordinated with Billy to get some of the older res guys over to try and find her.

Dad strictly informed me I wasn't to go off looking for her, despite my arguments to the contrary. He insisted he didn't want two lost daughters. So I busied myself with making everyone coffees and manning the telephone, starting to panic with each passing hour that Bella was gone.

The Cullens were gone, we discovered. Dr Cullen had gotten a job somewhere else, and the family had had to move right away. _She had blood on her yesterday_, I thought, the bile rising in the back of my throat. Could they have killed her and run? Had the urge to taste my sister's blood grown too strong for Edward?

"We found her!" Sam Uley's voice called, and the group of us at the house turned to see Bella in Sam's arms. Her body was limp, I fretted, as I ran over with Dad to see her. Her eyes were open, but it was like she was catatonic.

"Don't know what happened to her, Charlie," Sam said, sounding worried. "She was like this when I found her."

I looked at Bella with wide eyes. She had no bite marks, thankfully, but it was like she was just… gone. It was at that moment I knew – Edward was gone. Bella had been left behind and completely fallen apart. It made me sick to realise that there was no longer a Bella when there was no Edward.


	7. Chapter 7

"So how're you and your boyfriend going?" Jake asked. I was sprawled beside him in the garage, an old blanket beneath me as I read a magazine. He was working on a car.

"Fine," I said idly, turning the page.

"Fine? Really?" he mocked.

"Really," I replied. "Do you really want to hear about _everything_ to do with me and Ryan?"

"So… when am I going to meet him?" he asked, puffing out his chest and ignoring my sexual innuendo.

"You've already met him," I laughed at his attempt at manliness. Although, with the way he had been packing on the muscle lately, it wasn't that ridiculous anymore. "You've both been at every birthday party since I was six."

"I've met your _friend_, not your _boyfriend_," Jake corrected me. "Come on, what happened to the best friend seal of approval?"

"Even my dad approves of Ryan," I said. "And I'm the baby, he wasn't going to approve of many guys in Forks to be my boyfriend."

"Did he approve of Edward?" Jake asked, and immediately the casual atmosphere between us disintegrated.

For the past three months, Bella had lost her mind. She was practically catatonic, except for at night when she woke up the house with her screaming from nightmares. She barely spoke, barely ate, barely lived. There had been no word from the Cullens and I was furious at them for what they had done to my sister. Edward and Bella broke up – fine. But Bella and Alice were supposed to be friends, and Alice had completely cut her off.

"If he did he sure as hell doesn't now," I said flatly. Jake sat down on the blanket, and I was drawn to the warmth of his shoulder. There was nothing more comforting to me than that.

"She still that bad?" he said, and the pain present in his voice reminded me of how Dad and I sounded when people asked about Bella. Jake really did love her.

"She promised she'd try," I said quietly. "Mom and Dad were talking and they were going to send her back to Phoenix. Change of scenery or something. She refused to go back, but she promised she'd try and get better."

I really hoped she would. It was like she was just… gone. Dad and I had no idea how to deal with her. She didn't want to talk, she physically reacted if any of the Cullens were even mentioned. All we could do was wait.

"Send her around here," Jake suggested. "She could just sit there, if she wanted. But you know, get her out of the house, away from everywhere that reminds her of him."

"Worth a try," I said with a sigh.

"Grace," he nudged me slightly. "She'll be okay."

I looked up at him, biting my lip. "I really hope you're right, Jake."

* * *

I went home and spotted Bella sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the TV screen.

"Hey," I said, sitting beside her. "So I was over at Jake's today, and he was asking about you," I waited for a reply, and sighed when I didn't get one. "You should go see him sometime. It's always fun to go down to the res."

"I don't know," she said awkwardly.

"Bella, you said you'd try," I said pleadingly. If anyone could be good for her to hang around, it would be Jake.

"I am trying," she said, slightly defensively. It was the most colour I'd heard in her tone in months. "I'm going to the movies with Jessica."

"Jessica, right," I said, unconvinced. "Well, have fun with the gossip queen. In the meanwhile, just think about it, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded.

* * *

"Wanna split a sundae for dessert?" Ryan asked. I gave him a look and he laughed. "Right, sundae each then?"

"Thank God," I sighed. "For a second there I thought you didn't know me at all."

He pecked my lips and stood. "Gotta go to the bathroom, order for me?"

"Sure," I said. As he walked away, my cell rang. I hunted through my bag and answered triumphantly, "Hello?"

"Grace," Jake answered, his voice full of joy. "Guess who dropped by to see yours truly?"

"I don't know, Embry? Quil?" I teased.

"Really?" he scoffed. "Like I'd be this happy to see them."

"Charming thing to say about two of your best friends," I said with a laugh. "Is that how you talk about me?"

"Okay, and back to the point," he said. "Bella came by. We're working on a project together."

"A project?" I said curiously, then added, "Hold on," as I caught a waitress and ordered dessert for me and Ryan. "Okay, I'm back. What's this project?"

"Come by tomorrow, I'll show you," he answered.

"Mysterious," I grinned. "I'll be there. Gotta go, see you then."

"Later,"

I hung up as Ryan returned to the table.

"What's up?" he asked, seeing I was preoccupied.

"Jake called," I said. I'd told him about Jake's idea. "Bella went to see him."

"That's good, right?" he said hopefully, ever the eternal optimist. "She could use a change of scenery."

"That's not Phoenix," I agreed. "I'm heading over tomorrow to Jake's to see what they're up to," I paused awkwardly, remembering Jake's words about not having met Ryan as my boyfriend, even though we'd been together for months now. "Did you wanna come?"

"Can't, Ben and I were gonna movie marathon it," he said. "Remember? Star Wars?"

"Right," I confirmed. "Have fun with that."

"Do I hear mocking?" he teased.

"You do," I nodded, grinning as the sundaes arrived.

"Sometimes I wonder why I date you," he shook his head jokingly.

I poked my tongue out at him. "Hey! I'm the one dating the Star Wars fan!" I protested with a laugh.

* * *

The following day, Bella drove us to Jake's, looking nervous.

"So what's this secret project?" I asked as we pulled up.

"Okay," she said, turning off the ignition. "Don't freak out. And you can't tell Dad."

"Give me some credit," I scoffed, wishing I could remind her that I kept her 'my boyfriend is a vampire' secret without her losing it.

"Okay, come on," she said, and I followed her into the garage to find two motorbikes, in desperate need of repair, and Jake grinning beside them.

"I won't tell Dad," I said solemnly. "On one condition."

"What?" Bella said warily.

"That you get to ride one?" Jake said knowingly.

"Definitely," I beamed.

"Oh my God," she said. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Chill, Bella," I said, nudging her with my whip.

Bella and I sat near Jake as he worked, and I stayed silent as the two talked. Jake had this way of bringing people out of their shells, and I was glad my sister had listened to my advice and had come to hang out with him.

"Yo, Jake, you in there?" I heard Quil call from out the front.

Bella went to cover the bikes, but Jake reassured her, "No, it's okay. It's just my boys."

"Hey Jake, Grace," Embry greeted.

"Hey guys," I smiled.

"This is Bella," Jake introduced quickly, before I had a chance. I rolled my eyes at his eagerness.

"This is Quil and Embry," I said to her, poking my tongue out at Jake playfully.

"Hi," Embry said casually.

"I'm Quil Ateara," he said seriously, with a hint of flirtation. I tried desperately not to laugh. It got Bella to smile, at least. "So the bike building story is true."

"Oh yeah, I taught him everything he knows," Bella said, and I almost fell off my seat as she made a joke.

"What about the part where you're his girlfriend?" Quil continued.

Jake's jaw dropped in horror.

"Um, we're friends, you know," my sister explained awkwardly.

"Quil, really?" I smirked. "Never believe it until a Swan's confirmed it."

He laughed as Embry called, "Burn!"

"Actually," Jake said, looking at his three best friends with exasperation. "Remember, I said, she's a girl and she's a friend."

"Embry, do you remember him making that distinction?" Quil asked.

"Nope," Embry grinned.

"And burn!" I couldn't help but add, accepting Embry's high five.

"So you guys have girlfriends?" Bella said to Jake's defence. "That's awesome."

"Yeah, right, Quil's actually taking his cousin to prom," Jake spoke up, eager to embarrass him in return.

The two promptly started mucking around, play fighting.

"Welcome to the insanity," I said to Bella as I laughed.

"Thanks," she said, with a small smile of her own.

* * *

Over the next month or so, Jake and Bella became quite close. I came by occasionally, but I could recognise the progress Bella was making by having Jake in her life. Slowly but surely, the old Bella was coming back to us.

The entire time Edward had been gone, Bella had been eating alone. I would try and sit with her, and so would Ryan and our friends, but she would quickly make an excuse and leave. Then, the day after riding the bikes for the first time with Jake, she sat down with her usual group of friends to eat lunch.

"Hey," Ryan said, nudging me. I looked away from Bella and smiled at him. "Change of scenery did her good, huh?"

"Yeah," I said with a smile, relieved to be slowly getting my sister back. "It did."

* * *

That evening, Bella knocked on my door.

"Grace, it's me," she said softly.

"Come in," I said, surprised. I turned my TV off and faced her. "What's up?"

"I'm going to the movies with Mike and Jacob," she said, and looked confused as I burst out laughing. "What?" she said, in that exasperated way older sisters did so well.

"That sounds like an awesome date," I giggled.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Not even a date, Grace,"

"I'm sure they both wish it was, Bella," I replied.

"Well, come with me," she said. "Ryan too."

"Ryan's babysitting," I said. "But I'll come if you admit to yourself they both like you."

"I'll bribe you with dinner," she said, and I sighed as I realised this was true.

"Hey," Mike and Jake said brightly and simultaneously as we arrived. They then glared at each other.

"Hey guys," I said brightly, well aware they were talking to Bella but unable to help myself. "Who wants to go halves in popcorn?"

"So, she say anything about me?" Jake asked as we lined up for tickets.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Did I not swear I would text you the instant it happened?"

He shrugged as we purchased our tickets.

In the cinema, Bella was seated in between Mike and Jake, and I was on Jake's other side. I couldn't help but snort in amusement that both boys had a hand open and readily available for Bella to hold.

The violent movie was a little too much for Mike, who ran out of the cinema to throw up. We followed him out and I laughed as Jake declared, "What a marshmallow,"

He gave me a look indicating he wanted a little privacy.

"Right, I should go to the bathroom," I declared. "All that Coke, you know."

"Smooth," Jake muttered, and I resisted punching his arm.

By the time I walked out, it was just as Jake was storming out.

"Jake!" I called in surprise. He ignored me and kept going.

I turned to Bella, and a sickly looking Mike.

"Dude is weird," Mike supplied.

* * *

It was just like that that my best friend seemed to disappear. Billy claimed Jake had mono, but he wouldn't even reply to my texts and was ignoring all of my calls. Bella said he'd lost it at Mike and that he'd had a temperature.

The Jake I knew would never leave me, or Bella, like this.

Bella had only just been coming back to reality when Jake abruptly disappeared from both of our lives. I was beyond furious that he was cutting me out after ten years of friendship for no reason, and much too proud to go out to the reservation when he clearly didn't want me there. Dad couldn't deal with two heartbroken daughters, so I tried to act as if everything was normal. I went on dates with Ryan, I hung out with Gemma, Natalie and Ben, and tried to act like it was perfectly normal that there was still no word from Jake.

After a couple of weeks, Bella had caved and gone to see Jacob, and came home without saying a word for me. I didn't understand – suddenly I had lost my sister and my best friend.

And neither would tell me why.

* * *

I carefully applied my mascara as I watched my reflection in the mirror, before pouting my lips and applying gloss. Gemma was throwing a party, and Ryan was on his way to pick me up. I was wearing my cutest dress, and my hair was down and in long waves down my back. I heard the sound of Bella arriving home as I was putting on my heels. I heard the row rumble of Jacob's voice, and immediately frowned. The last thing I wanted to see him doing was moon over Bella, who was clearly still in love with Edward. I was staying far away from that potential love triangle.

I quickly walked downstairs, and heard Jacob's remark before I saw him.

"Nice dress," he said, and I couldn't tell if he was mocking me or not. Going with what I knew, I was sure he was mocking me.

I looked him in the eye and his smirk immediately changed, and he stared at me blankly for a long moment. There was a strange, intense pull between us, which was thankfully broken by Bella.

"Uh, guys?" she said, looking concerned.

I took a step back, although I hadn't gotten physically closer to him during that oddly powerful moment.

"Bite me, Jacob," I said with malice.

He didn't respond, just staring at me as if he were just seeing me for the first time. He'd seen me dressed like this before and barely looked twice, so I knew my outfit couldn't be it.

Ryan honked from out the front, and I sighed with relief. "See you later, Bella."

"Have fun," she said with a small smile, one of the few that didn't look forced since Edward's abrupt departure.

I quickly left, ignoring that Jacob seemed unable to look away.

* * *

That night, I arrived home with a little bit of a buzz from the fun party. Ryan and I had had a nice little make out session at the party and then in his car and seriously, the boy could kiss. I got out of the car and stumbled happily to the front door. I jumped when Jake appeared out of the shadows, shaking with barely concealed fury.

"Can I help you?" I asked with my hand on my hip in annoyance. He was shirtless, which Bella told me happened a lot these days. I tried my best to look him in the eye instead of openly ogling his chest.

"You kissed him," his voice was dangerously low.

"And your point is?" I asked, confused. "He _is _my boyfriend… and why would you care anyway? You completely ditched me to hang with Sam of all people, and of course Bella's in on the secret because you're so in love with her-"

I stopped when he completely invaded my personal space, and leaned in close.

"I care," he said, so seriously I felt my heart skip a beat. "Because you're _mine_."

I scowled at him, completely unimpressed by this newly territorial Jacob. "I'm sorry, I would have thought Bella was yours," I snapped. "Seeing how you completely ignore me, not to mention Ryan and I have been together for months and all of a sudden you have a problem with it?"

He didn't say a word – instead, he kissed me, so passionately I felt like my knees were about to buckle if he hadn't wrapped his arms around me, holding me up.

When he finally let go, I shakily put a hand to my lips. "You kissed me," I said in absolute shock.

He smirked, and I got so angry that I drew my hand back and punched him in the face for his pure cocky nerve. I screeched in pain as I realised I had just broken my hand _on his face_. What the hell?

I was very insulted when Dad seemed to find it funny. He had been waiting up for me, and while he had been concerned about my hand, he had chuckled that he needed to teach me how to punch when he'd discovered how I'd damaged it.

"His face is like a rock," I complained, but didn't say much more, knowing it could give my drinking up to my police chief dad.

Jacob insisted on coming along to the hospital to make sure I was okay, and I angrily ignored him the whole time. We got home pretty late, so the buzz had sadly worn off along with the fact I had a sprained hand all bandaged up, so I was far from happy when Jacob stopped me at the front door.

"It's late, Jake," Dad warned.

"Just a sec," he sent a pleading look at Dad, and I looked at Dad begging him to stay.

"I'm really sorry you hurt your hand," he said quietly, once Dad had disappeared inside.

"No you're not," I said, the first thing I'd said to him since I'd punched him. I was so mad at him. We hadn't spoken in a month, and now all of a sudden he decided he had a problem with Ryan?

"I didn't want you to be hurt," he said, and I was taken aback by his quiet sincerity. But however unintentionally, he had hurt me.

"I'm really tired, Jacob," I said, and he winced. I only ever called him Jacob when I wasn't happy with him. "Goodbye."

"Wait," he grabbed my uninjured arm gently, and I looked down at his grasp until he reluctantly let go. "Can you come down to the res tomorrow?"

"I didn't think I was welcome," I said coldly.

"Grace, please," he said quietly.

"I'll think about it," I said, and he had to let me go at that. I slammed the door in his face and stormed upstairs. There was no way in hell I was going to see him the next day.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey guys, hope you are all enjoying this story. Reading some of your reviews makes my day!**

**I am heading overseas for the next six weeks, but rest assured I will be back and the story will be continued. Keep reading and let me know your thoughts :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Bella was acting weird. She was really pushing for me to go and see Jacob that morning.

"He really needs to talk to you," she pushed as we ate breakfast.

"So, what, he's finally going to tell me what he's already told you?" I said, irritated.

"Just go down there, would you?" she said, sounding faintly annoyed with me.

"No, I think I'll go hang out with Ryan," I decided. At her disapproving look, I said, "What? Why is it a problem for me to hang out with my boyfriend? You know, Jacob kissed me knowing I have a boyfriend, and I'm the bad guy?"

"You love Jacob," she said, as if we talked about this all the time. I had never once voiced my feelings to her, but apparently I was completely transparent when it came to him.

"He loves you," I said in the same know it all tone, and she chewed her lip. "And I have Ryan."

"He doesn't love me," she said. "Just talk to him."

"No," I said bluntly.

"Grace!"

"Bella!" I mocked her demanding tone. "Mind your own business. I don't care if you two are best friends or whatever, but he made a choice when he blocked me out of his life. He can live with the consequences!"

With that, I stormed out of the house and headed towards town, my hands in my pockets. I didn't really know where I was going, only that I needed to clear my head.

"So you're not coming to see me then?"

I nearly tripped when Jacob suddenly appeared beside me, and I frowned. He was shirtless again.

"It's freezing, put a shirt on," I snapped. "Who are you trying to impress?"

"It'd be really corny to say you, wouldn't it?"

I chose to ignore that, instead I kept walking. He walked beside me in a tense silence, until I snapped.

"_Why_ are you here?" I demanded. "Why aren't you off with Bella?"

"Why, jealous?" he smirked.

"Like you were of Ryan last night?" I retorted, and his face immediately darkened.

"I need to tell you something, but not here," he said.

"Is it what Bella knows?" I asked.

"Yes," he said honestly.

I was torn. I so badly wanted to know exactly what had been going on, what had driven my best friend of a decade away from me… but at the same time, the pettier side of me asked what it would change. So I took a deep breath and followed my instincts. That's the thing with my instincts, I had to actually take a moment and listen.

"Okay," I said reluctantly.

"Come on then," he said eagerly. "Bella's going to lend us her truck."

* * *

The car ride was silent, and it was only as he pulled up out the front of his house that noticed the slight shaking of his hands.

"Come on, we have to go into the woods," he said, offering me his hand to lead me. Stubbornly, I walked past him. He sighed and walked faster to be in the lead. I followed him deep into the forest, my nerves increasing with each step. I froze when we entered a clearing, suddenly wanting to flee.  
"Grace?" he said cautiously. "You know you can trust me."

I nodded nervously, and he stepped away from me.

"I have to show you something," he said anxiously. This was so unlike the cocky Jacob I knew that I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded. He closed his eyes for a moment, before quickly looking at me again, as if already fearing what my reaction to this would be. I smiled softly at him, and he closed his eyes again.

A giant wolf appeared before me, and I was proud that I didn't scream. I stared at Jake Wolf, whose eyes looked the exact same as Jacob's.

"Holy crap," I said faintly.

The human version of Jacob came back a moment later, and I blushed as I realised he was naked.  
"Occupational hazard," he explained, and I noticed the tatters of the shorts he had been wearing on the ground around him. He grabbed a pair of shorts hidden nearby.

"You're a wolf," I said in amazement. "Just like the legends Billy used to tell us?"

He grinned. "I should have known you'd remember. Bella didn't."

My mood immediately darkened. Of course Bella hadn't remembered. _I _was the one who had grown up begging to hear more Quileute tales. "You wanted her to know, but not me. We were supposed to be best friends, Jacob."

He looked pained. "I fell for her," he explained. "And Sam ordered us not to tell anyone outside the tribe, and when the Alpha orders us, we have no choice but to obey. I reminded her only that I had told her stories. She kind of figured it out from there."

He went on to briefly explain the pack and who had changed.

"Why can you tell me now then?" I asked when he'd finished. "I'm not Bella, and I'm not part of the tribe."

"You are," he said, so quietly I almost missed it. "There's something called imprinting…"

"Imprinting?" The word was not familiar, in all of the stories I remembered Billy telling us. I knew most of the legends of the tribe, having always been eager to learn about their culture.

"Imprinting… it's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like... gravity moves... suddenly. It's not the earth holding you here anymore, she does... You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that's a protector, or a lover, or a friend," he said, with an air like he was quoting this from someone. Sam, probably. "When a wolf imprints, we imprint on our perfect match, our soul mate."

The more he explained, the more panicked I felt.

"The way you looked at me yesterday," I said, my voice shaking. "You looked at me like you'd never seen me before."

"I imprinted on you," he confirmed.

I felt nauseous. I had been waiting, longer than I'd even been aware of it, for him to fall for me. I had watched as he had gone after my sister instead, and so I had finally started to move on with Ryan. Sweet, handsome Ryan who loved me.

"But you love Bella," I blurted out, my panic levels rising.

"It doesn't matter what I felt for her," he insisted. "When I saw you yesterday… everything that made me who I was - my love for my father, my loyalty to my pack, my home, my name, myself - disconnected from me in that second, but I wasn't left drifting. A new string held me where I was. Not one string, but a million steel cables all tying me to one thing - to the very centre of the universe. The gravity of the earth no longer tied me to the place where I stood. It was you, Grace. You are everything."

I was blown away by his passionate speech. How was I the reason for anything, let alone his very reason for existence? No, this had to be the wolf thing. All of his former loyalties, he was right; they were what made him who he was. I was not his sole reason, I just couldn't be.

"So let me get this straight," I said, more freaked out by imprinting than I was by my best friend turning into a wolf in front of me. "It took a moment of eye contact to be forced into being tied to me for the rest of your life?"

"It's not about being forced…"

"Jacob," I interrupted, my voice deadly serious. "If you weren't a wolf, and you hadn't imprinted on me, would you still be in love with Bella?"

He looked at me like his heart was breaking. He knew better than to lie to me; we'd always been able to read each other. "Grace…"

That was enough for me. "Give me the keys, I want to go home."

"This doesn't change anything for you?" he said pleadingly, and finally I lost it.

"I was in love with you, Jacob!" I cried, and in that moment I realised maybe he couldn't read me as well as I thought he could. He looked so shocked, like he'd had no idea how I felt until this moment. "For years, I think. But before I could really do anything, you were already falling for Bella. I deserve better than to be someone's second choice… I wanted for you to _choose _me, Jacob! I wanted _you _to fall for me, not be forced into it by some wolfy instinct."

"It's not like that," he protested.

"I am Ryan's first choice, do you understand?" I said. "He is good for me, and he is my boyfriend. You need to leave me alone."

"Grace," he said, and I couldn't believe the amount of heartbreak I could hear in the way he said my name.

"Give me the keys!" I yelled. Reluctantly, he handed them over. I managed to find my way back to the truck, and hopped in, breathing heavily as I tried not to cry. I kept stalling the truck, and finally just started to sob. There was a knock on the window, and it was Jacob, looking like he just wanted to hug me.

He had always been the one I had gone to for comfort. Who was I supposed to go to now? I finally managed to get the truck going, and drove home, bawling my eyes out the whole way.

* * *

I pretended to be sick so my dad would leave me alone when he got home from work, and thankfully Bella understood enough to know I really didn't want her to hover. I spent the whole day in bed, staring at the roof and trying to wrap my head not only around the existence of werewolves, but the fact Jacob was one, and he had somehow imprinted on me.

The day slowly turned to night, and I listened as Dad and Bella ate dinner and later, go to bed. Dad checked in on me, but I feigned sleep so he wouldn't figure out that I wasn't actually sick. As he headed to bed the house fell silent, but I couldn't sleep. Here it was, I had everything I'd ever wanted being presented to me. _But it was all wrong_. I really liked Ryan, and I knew that probably one day soon, I would realise that I loved him.

I started sobbing into my pillow, heaving sobs that I successfully kept quiet enough so that my sister and father didn't hear. I jumped as a hot hand touched my back, and turned in fright to see Jacob.

"I'm so sorry," he said, and without a thought I launched myself at him in a fierce hug. He held me as I cried, murmuring how sorry he was. Other than when he had kissed me the night before, we had never been this physically close before, so wrapped around each other.

"It wouldn't be so bad," I said into the silence, long after I'd stopped crying. I'd let him just hold me, and I'd pretended everything was fine. "If you had wanted me before this."

"You think I never wanted you?" he said incredulously. "Come on, Grace, you're beautiful."

"Imprint talking," I said, not believing it was really coming from him.

"I almost kissed you once," he said. "Remember that weekend you crashed at mine? We had that big bonfire with everyone, and you were just so happy to be there. You hugged me… like you meant it."

"I did," I admitted. "Because that was right when I realised that I loved you."

"And that was right before I fell for Bella," he sighed. "I know things should have been different. I should have just made a move, I definitely shouldn't have chased after your sister."

I pulled away from him, out of his embrace, instead leaning against the headboard of my bed as I stared at him. He kept a hand on my leg, and it seemed like he always wanted to touch me.

"It doesn't matter," I said. "Because it was Bella you loved. You chose her. You wanted her to know this secret. You didn't want me to, you completely ditched me…"

"I was trying to protect you," he protested. "From all of this. Yes, a big part of me wanting Bella to know what how I felt about her. But she was open to the supernatural. She fell for a leech, didn't she? But you were so wary about Edward being a vampire."

"So that gets counted against me?" I said incredulously. "You don't trust them either!"

"I didn't want you to see me as a freak," he said, shocking me. "I got forced into this world…"

"Excuses," I scoffed.

He groaned. "I just want to make this better, Grace. Please, just tell me what I have to do."

"I am not with Ryan because you weren't available!" I said angrily. "I really care about him, Jacob. We need to stay apart until this goes away…"

"It'll never go away," he said fiercely. "That's not how it works."

"You need to make me happy," I said with sudden realisation. He couldn't refuse me this, could he?

"Grace, don't," he said, knowing where I was heading with this.

"I would be happier without you," I lied. He deserved better than this.

"You're lying," he growled.

"I need you to leave me alone," I said. "I have Ryan, and I'm happy with him. Just let me be happy with him."

"I can't," he said weakly.

"You've managed it for months," I reminded him. "You can do it now."

We stared each other down for a long moment.

"I'll go," he said. I gasped as he jumped from my second storey window, landing easily on the ground before storming off. I heard a howl in the distance and shivered, missing him already more than I should.

* * *

I was completely miserable without Jacob, even more so now than when it had been him avoiding me. He was staying away like I'd asked to, and I hadn't seen him for two weeks. Bella kept badgering me to talk to Jacob, while Dad remained as oblivious as ever. Ryan could tell something was up with me.

"You're quiet," Ryan said, nudging my shoulder with his. I closed my locker and we started to walk towards the school car park.

"Sorry," I said. It felt like I was betraying him in some way, even though it was him I had chosen.

"You don't need to be sorry," he said gently. "I'm just worried about you. You seem really upset about something."

"Jacob and I had a fight," I said, not exactly lying. "I… I miss him."

"So make up," he said as if it were obvious.

"It's just complicated," I said with a sigh. "We both just need time, I guess. Sorry to be such a downer lately."

"I get it," he said, holding my hand. "He's your best friend. But even if it's complicated, I'm sure you guys will work it out. You always do."

"Thanks," I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. _ I don't deserve you._

He smiled at me, putting his arm around me as we walked.

* * *

I got home to find that Bella was off at the res. It was her respite now more than it was mine. Dad was at work, so I grabbed some cereal for dinner and turned on some trashy reality television that I would forever deny watching. Already in my pyjamas, I rose at the sound of someone at the door and opened it to reveal Emily.

My jaw dropped. I knew Emily from the res but it wasn't beyond a 'hey, how's it going' kind of relationship. Considering my friendship with Leah, it felt kind of wrong to even be polite to her. But her fiancé Sam normally scared the hell out of me without even trying, so I was polite. Now that I knew he was able to turn into a wolf… let's just say the fear level had only increased.

"Hi," I said in utter shock.

"Hi Grace," she said with a warm smile. She had a basket on her arm, and raised the cover to reveal chocolate muffins, my absolute favourite thing to eat. I suspected Jacob had let her in on that. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," I said, standing aside and wishing I was wearing something a little better than my pj's. She walked in and I closed the door. "How's the wedding planning going?"

"Good," she said as she offered me a muffin. I accepted and we sat down on the couch.

I took a bite. "God, that's incredible."

She beamed. "Thanks, I end up baking all the time for the boys, they're in and out of the house so much."

Oh, the boys. I started shredding the wrapping, Jacob suddenly in my mind.

"I'd imagine," I said softly.

There was an awkward silence, before she cracked and revealed why she had come to see me. "I guess you know I'm not just here to share some chocolate."

"I'm guessing it's about Jacob," I prompted.

"Looks, I know you've heard all about imprinting from his side," she said. "And I don't want to overstep my bounds; we don't know each other very well. I just thought you could use an imprint's perspective."

I had known that Emily's cousin Leah had been seriously dating Sam when suddenly Sam had left her and fallen Emily. It was a bit of a scandal on the res for a while and now I knew why. He'd imprinted.

"How did you handle it?" I asked softly. "How can you have been sure it was what he wanted, as opposed to being forced into loving you?"

She gave me a sad smile. "It was really hard, especially considering he was with Leah when it happened. I resisted for a while too, you know. But it reaches the stage when you realise that this happened for a reason."

"Jacob loves Bella," I said. "And I… I have a boyfriend. I could love him."

"And Sam loved Leah," she said, not arguing with me. "As cruel as it is, how he felt for her didn't matter to him anymore. I have a theory, you know."

"What?"

"I think we would have found each other anyway," she explained. "It's intense and it's weird, the imprint. But it's kind of like the imprint, it doesn't change anything. It just shows them where they're supposed to be. It shows them where their soul mates are."

I stared at her, trying to wrap my head around it. I hadn't thought of it that way, instead focusing on how Jacob couldn't love me. What if Emily was right? What if, regardless of the imprint, we would have eventually found each other?

"I loved him," I admitted. "I never really said it out loud, because I knew how he felt about Bella. It only just feels like I got past it all, you know? Ryan and I work together. He's the sweetest guy in the whole world. And this imprinting thing doesn't change what I feel for Ryan."

"I didn't have feelings for Sam before, but knowing I'd broken them up held me back for a long time," she said. She looked at me seriously. "He will be who you need him to be eventually. If you truly can't love him, he will be the truest friend you've ever had. But you need to really think, Grace. Do you still love him? Because if you do and you hold back, you're only causing yourself heartbreak. Believe me, that boy is finally aware of you. But the rest is up to you."

* * *

Bella arrived home a little less sad, like she always did after hanging around Jacob. I was still contemplating the idea of soul mates when she arrived.

"Hey," she said as she entered the house.

"Hey," I said, still distracted. She entered the lounge room, where I was sitting with the television off.

"What's going on?" she asked warily.

"Emily came by," I said. "She talked wanted to talk to me about Jacob."

Bella sat down beside me. "I know I keep going at you to talk to him. He just really misses you. Even before he, um…"

"Imprinted," I prompted her.

"Right," she said, slightly flustered. "Even before he imprinted, he would ask about you, you know? He didn't like keeping it from you. It's worse now. He's trying to do what he thinks you want him to. He just wants you to be happy."

I nodded, and she found her full confidence and steamed right ahead.

"But you're not happy, Grace," she continued gently. "You've always loved him and here he is. How long are you going to let yourself be miserable for?"

Seeing an opening I couldn't resist, I said gently, "Bella, how long are _you _going to let yourself be miserable for?"

She stood abruptly. "I'm trying, I promise."

"I know you are," I said, touching her on the arm. She looked at me, and I could see even now, she was barely holding it together. "I see what Jacob does for you, you know?"

"And I see what he does for _you_," she said. "And I just can't understand why you're fighting this so hard."

"I have Ryan, Bella," I reminded her. Everyone was so keen to forget we had been dating for months, now that Jacob had imprinted. "I've been friends with him almost as long as I've been friends with Jacob. He's so good to me, and I really… I care about him. A lot."

"I know you do," she said gently. "But I think you have to ask yourself, will it hurt you more to have Jake out of your life? Or Ryan?"

On that note, she left me alone.

That night, I couldn't sleep. Thoughts of my conversations with both Emily and my sister left me tossing and turning. Normally the rain outside lulled me to sleep, but that night it was just annoying me. I angrily punched my pillow. I didn't sleep at all that night.

* * *

I was in the middle of laughing at a joke of Ryan's when there was a knock at the front door. The smile slid off my face when I saw it was Sam Uley on my doorstep. He looked like someone had died, and a pit of concern immediately appeared in my stomach.

"It's Jacob," he said quickly. "He needs you, Grace."

"I can't," I said, feeling torn. I glanced towards the kitchen, knowing Ryan was in there waiting for me.

"You don't understand," Sam said urgently. "He _needs_ you. I don't know how he's managed to stay away from you this long."

"My boyfriend is in the kitchen, Sam," I warned him.

"I'm not asking you to break up with him," he said. "I'm asking you to just come and see Jacob. He's your best friend."

I was desperate not to go. With Jake out of the picture for the past month and a half, the misery had slowly faded as I found it easier and easier to be with Ryan. He really did make me happy. Everything was so easy, so carefree when we were together.

Plus Ryan was with me all without a supernatural connection demanding him to be.

But the expression on Sam's face convinced me there was something really wrong with Jake. I couldn't imagine Sam showing up on my doorstep and asking me to go see him unless it was serious.

"Give me half an hour," I said, trying to think of how I was going to get rid of Ryan. I went to close the door, but Sam put his hand in the way to stop me.

"Grace?" he said. "Hurry."

I nodded curtly, and he removed his hand so I could close the door. I took a breath and headed into the kitchen.

"Who was at the door?" Ryan asked.

"Sam Uley," I answered. "The guy who found Bella, actually, when she went missing."

"One of Jacob's friends?" he asked carefully, aware Sam was from the res. As far as Ryan knew, Jake and I were in a fight and no longer on speaking terms. It was a lot easier to lie than to tell him the truth. He would think I had lost my mind. Hell, half the time _I _thought I was insane. Werewolves, vampires. What happened to boring old Forks?

"Yeah," I said. "But I'm friends with his fiancée, Emily," A bit of a lie, considering we had only really spoken once, and I'd always been on Leah's side before finding out about the whole imprinting thing. "He invited me over for dinner tonight."

Ryan glanced at the clock. It was already getting late. "You gonna go?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Is Jacob going to be there?" he asked.

"I hope not," I answered, wondering if I was lying or not with that statement.

"I better get home anyway," he said, kissing me. I clung to him for a long moment, and he chuckled. "I'll miss you too, babe."

Bella drove up just as Ryan left. They exchanged friendly waves, but I could see she looked worried. I quickly met her on the driveway.

"Bella…"

"We should get going," she said quickly, and I obeyed her without question for once and hopped into her truck.

"What exactly is going on?" I asked, just wanting to hear that Jake was okay.

"They think it's to do with the imprint," she said as we drove. "He stayed away because you asked him to. But apparently he needs to be around you, to the point he's gotten really sick."

"He needs to see me?" I asked, feeling nauseous at the thought of the imprint making him ill.

Bella's cheeks reddened. "He needs to touch you."

I felt myself go red. My mind flew back to when he had kissed me and I quickly tried to think of other thoughts.

We rode in silence the rest of the way, and I flew out of the car as Bella pulled up outside the Black residence. Billy was on the porch waiting for me, his face relieved at my presence.

"I thought you'd take some convincing," he said.

"I never wanted to Jake to be sick," I said honestly. "This was supposed to be better for both of us."

Billy looked at me thoughtfully, but didn't say anything as I went inside. I was taken aback when I walked in. I hadn't expected the whole pack of large Quileute men to be crammed into the living room.

"Told you she'd come," Embry said to the others, putting his arm around me.

There was a low growl, and we all turned to see Jake in the doorway to his bedroom, staring at Embry's arm with a feral look on his face. Embry quickly removed his arm, and Jake's gaze fell on me.

"Grace," he breathed, and everyone looked at me expectantly. It was like the moment of imprinting all over again. I was frozen, staring at him like I too was seeing him for the first time.

"Let's give them some privacy," Sam said quietly, and I managed to tear myself away from Jake's eyes to send Sam an appreciative smile. Maybe he wasn't so scary after all. Finally, it was just Jack and me. I could hear his laboured breathing from across the room, he looked like he was burning up and in physical pain. I didn't know what to say or do.

"Can I hug you?" his voice was so small, so broken. I felt incredibly guilty.

I didn't answer, instead quickly crossing the room to hug him tightly. He sighed in relief, wrapping his arms around me.

"I miss you," he murmured.

It was with tears in my eyes that I admitted, "I miss you too."


End file.
